The Date - The Flip Side
by SkyStrider
Summary: Folks requested it, so here it is: The flip side to "The Date". How did Tofu and Kasumi manage to keep all of Ranma's and Akane's suitors away from the couple's First Date (and anyone else who might have wanted to interfere)? And what about Ranma's parents – did they try to cause trouble? You have to read to find out…
1. Introduction

The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only. I do claim the characters of Olaf, Mouse, and Ciren (if you want to borrow them, you only have to ask – just common courtesy after all).

This story is a companion piece to "The Date" and follows what happens to the rest of the Ranma cast during Akane and Ranma's First Date. I received enough requests (Thank you all!) that I decided to tell the flip side of the story. However, if you were hoping for a confrontation between the couple and their suitors, it is not happening. Tofu and Kasumi were a little too thorough in separating the characters. However, the Doc and his fiancée need to keep everyone busy so they will not know they have been tricked until it's too late, so the good Doctor has brought in reinforcements that only he could.

We also get to find out what else is happening to some of the other characters as well on this magical night – magical enough that the magic is not limited to Ranma and Akane….

* * *

List of Stories (and the offered perspective):

1) Thoughts of a Doctor (Tofu)

2) End of the Plot (Nabiki and Hinako)

3) Tale of Two Ninjas - Part 1 (Sasuke)

4) Tale of Two Ninjas - Part 2 (Konatsu)

5) To Stop a Date: Part I – Kimiko (Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Tatewaki)

6) To Stop a Date: Part II – Distractions (Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Tatewaki)

7) To Stop a Date: Part III – The Maze (Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Tatewaki)

8) To Stop a Date: Part IV – The Dead Girl (Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Tatewaki)

9) To Stop a Date: Part V – The Closing Act (Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Tatewaki)

10) The Midnight Hour (not telling)

11) The Morning After (Gosunkugi)

12) The Afternoon After (Cologne)

Hope you enjoy!


	2. Thoughts of a Doctor

Chapter 1: Thoughts of a Doctor (Tofu)

Ranma waited nervously downstairs with his entourage. Daisuke and Hiroshi were watching the mighty Saotome sweat waiting for his date. Soun and Genma were playing Go again, but Soun kept glancing toward the stairs, giving Genma lots of time to cheat. Doctor Tofu was watching Nodoka fuss over Ranma as she made sure Akane's first sight of him was memorable. The Doc knew that Ranma was about to lose the war of first impressions; he was just hoping second place wouldn't pass out though. Still, the young man cut quite the dashing figure. The suit they bought for him last weekend was cut very well, and showed off his musculature nicely. Akane should be impressed at least.

Doctor Tofu felt unsettled though. Much planning had gone into this evening, but something was wrong in the room. The Doc reviewed the players with him. Daisuke and Hiroshi were here to provide "moral support" for the victim. O.K. really, they were hoping to see Ranma pass out at his first sight of Akane, but they would settle for stunned. Hiroshi was out for revenge after Yuka surprised him on his first date with her and Ranma (and Daisuke) ribbed Hiroshi for a week afterward. Daisuke just wanted something to hold over Ranma's head (of course, what Daisuke was really doing was ensuring a rough time on his first date, but never mind). However, the boys wanted the date to happen and were not the problem.

That left the parents. Soun looked as he should. It was never easy watching your youngest grow up, but he wanted Akane to be happy, so there was no issue there. Nodoka wanted her son to marry Akane as fast as possible, and produce grandchildren. Tofu wasn't sure what was behind that thought train, but it make him uneasy – he would have to make sure Nodoka didn't try and hijack the date into a love-hotel (she had already tried once). Tofu watched Genma the most though; something was wrong there, but what? Genma looked and acted like his normal self staying at the Go board. Why should that alarm Tofu? It wasn't as if Tofu wanted Genma to give Ranma advice. The less the part time panda said, the better. It was somewhat surprising that the man was so quiet though…

"Oh, hell" Tofu thought. "He's planning something. Normally, Genma would be up front trying to take control of the stage. He's letting things roll though, biding his time, and I need to be elsewhere, so I can't stop him. Great. I need to block him somehow. Who do I have free?"

Tofu ran through everyone in the know. Hiroshi and Yuka were going on their own date shortly after Akane and Ranma left, so they were out. Daisuke and Sayuri were not up to the task without the other half of the quartet – Genma could side step them easily. Kasumi would be needed elsewhere. Hinako would tire early due to her child-like state and have to head home soon, so she wouldn't be of help.

"That leaves Nabiki," Tofu thoughts finished. "It has to be her. Trouble is, she might get too creative. She wants to get even with Genma for his plot to steal the Tendo home." The doctor rubbed his eyes. "Actually, I'm sure he's still plotting it." He sighed to himself. "I cannot pull any of the other players until later. I'm going to have to talk to Nabiki and trust her until I can send reinforcements. So be it…"

As he made his decision, Tofu heard a door upstairs open and the ladies trooped down the stairs. Ms. Hinako was first, practically bouncing down the stairs. Kasumi was next and was wearing her ever-present smile. Sayuri and Yuka followed grinning mischievously at Ranma and seemed to be taunting the sacrificial male. Nabiki was the last down the stairs with her well known smirk. She waited until the other ladies had made their way into the room, and then addressed everyone: "Ladies and Gentlemen: It gives me great pleasure to present Miss Akane Tendo." Tofu watched as Akane stepped gracefully down the stairs. He always knew the young lady was pretty, but even he was surprised by how well she cleaned up. While he felt that his own bride-to-be had her sister beat, it was close – very close. Tofu let out an involuntary whistle only to have Kasumi nudge him with her elbow. Thank heavens his fiancée wasn't the jealous type. There was a crash as Daisuke hit the ground, surprising Tofu again. "Please!" the Doctor prayed. "Please don't let him have a crush on Akane too!" Tofu could see Hiroshi staring resolutely at Yuka, determined not to wreck his own date.

Tofu watched as the parents in the room reacted for a different reason. The Doc heard the Go board hit the ground as Soun staggered to his feet, watching his dead wife's re-incarnation stand before him. Nodoka had gone pale and brought her hands to her face. She was staring at Akane in surprise and a little awe murmuring: "She looks just like her." Genma had also gone very pale and seemed to be swallowing hard in terror.

The Doc looked at Ranma and Akane with a growing unease. Ranma seemed to be carved in ice and fear was showing in Akane eyes. Tofu recognized what was happening but resisted the urge to interfere – the couple had to work this out. If they couldn't start trusting each other, there was no point in continuing with the date. Tofu began praying again. Suddenly, Ranma moved forward and dropped to one knee gracefully, bowing his head to the elegant woman. The shape-shifter spoke in over-blown tones: "My dear lady, never have I seen anyone as beautiful and stunning as you." Then the young man raised his face and gazed adoringly at his fiancée. Ranma seemed to be saying something else, but Tofu couldn't quite make it out. Whatever it was caused Akane to smile gently in return. As Ranma rose to his feet again, Akane hurled herself into Ranma's arms whispering something into his ear.

Tofu seemed to hear a sound in the back of his head, like a key clicking in a lock. He found that he had been unconsciously holding his breath, so he let it out. Kasumi glanced at him and he winked at her. She smiled and watched the young couple again. "It's going to work," Tofu thought to himself. "The boy has finally grown enough to be a young man. Whatever happens tonight, he's ready for it, and so is she…"

* * *

Tofu woke Daisuke using smelling salts. The Doc was tempted to let him sleep until after Ranma and Akane left, but he needed the young man's assistance with the next part of the vanishing act. As it was, things were just under control. The three parents were in a stunned state caused by Akane's adult appearance. Apparently she looked enough like her mother to pass as a twin. Tofu had not known Kimiko until she was about 30 or so, but he could see a strong resemblance between the two women. Tofu had no idea why Soun wasn't balling his eyes out, but he'd take what he could get. Yuka and Hiroshi were bent down next to the Doctor; Sayuri was on the ground laughing. Ranma and Akane were talking to each other quietly, exchanging compliments, blushing a little, and ignoring everyone else. Kasumi was watching them, looking like she was seeing her fondest dream come true. There was no sign of Hinako or Nabiki.

Gradually, Daisuke came around. The young man sat up slowly and held his head. He looked up at Ranma and Akane and then held his head again. "When the hell did she grow up?" he asked. Then he looked at Yuka and Hiroshi, "Hell, when did we all start growing up?"

"Ah, that's what got you," Tofu said with sudden understanding. "Sorry, Daisuke. You're just like the rest of us. You get there one day at a time." Daisuke sighed. "For what is worth, you never have to grow up completely. I know I haven't yet," added Tofu.

"Trust me on this, Daisuke," Kasumi added. She had approached the group quietly, taking time to bop Sayuri lightly on the head. "Tofu definitely hasn't grown up yet." Her fiancé shot her a grin.

"We can talk about this later. Right now though, we need Daisuke the Trickster," Tofu continued. "Think you can get up now?" Daisuke nodded his head. Hiroshi and Tofu helped him up and into the kitchen. Daisuke grabbed some milk and seem to shake off the worse of his indisposition. He then began to check the wiring he set up earlier. Tofu watched him for a minute, noting the confidence flowing back into the young man. Satisfied with what he saw, the Doctor picked up the phone and called the limo company to send the car. Then he went out into the main room where Kasumi was back watching Ranma and Akane. He tapped Kasumi on the shoulder and then tapped his watch when he had her attention. She nodded and approached the young couple. Meanwhile Tofu went to the front door where the second couple waited. The Doc's next job was to give this couple cover as they ran to the limousine in the middle of Daisuke's pyrotechnic display.

* * *

Tofu sensed the watchers studying the Tendo house as the limousine car approached. The gate crashers adjusted themselves to spring into action knowing they would only have one chance at this. The car stopped just outside the gates of the complex and the driver, a huge hulk of a man, got out. He stepped around to the passenger door and opened it, and then looked at the house. The watchers did likewise. Of course, had they continued to pay attention to the driver, they would have seen the driver take out a pair of dark glasses and place them on his face. Suddenly, the front yard lit up like a supernova as hundreds of flash flares went off at once, blinding everyone for about five seconds. Tofu's couple, wearing dark sunglasses, ran straight down the path. There was the sound of a car door slamming. Tofu watched the second volley of flash flares fire as the driver opened his door and climbed in fast, closing the door quickly. At the third volley, Tofu watched the car peel out. Then he heard the shouts:

"NO!"

"AIREN!"

"BELOVED! COME BACK"

"I WILL RESCUE YOU, MY FIERCE TIGERESS!"

As he watched, four people staggered into the street and tried to clear their collective heads. Then they all tore off after the car, hoping the streets of Nerima would slow it up long enough to at least track the vehicle. The Doc continued to watch as several other teenagers also wandered into view and shook off the blindness, but they were there only to see history made. As the others watched the four chase after the limo, they began to chuckle and then to laugh. Many of them began swapping money with others while bragging and quipping with each other:

"I told you they would pull it off."

"Whoa, he actually grew up."

"Told you she was straight!"

"I bet Daisuke was behind the flash flares."

"What a bunch of losers. They lost, get over it."

The doctor noticed older people hiding in the shadows trying not to be seen. They were bookies and gamblers who had bet on the Nerima Fiancée Wars. Some of them were very happy at the scene in front of them, but many more were very angry. All of them were determined to shape tonight's outcome. Fortunately, the doctor was aware of them and had included them in his plans. That and the reinforcements the gamblers would bring with them. After all, four people were hardly going to keep all of Tofu's troops busy. Tofu amused himself with the thought for a moment and then got back to business; he had one couple sent on their way safely. Now he just had to catch up to Ranma and Akane.


	3. End of the Plot

Chapter 2: End of the Plot (Nabiki and Hinako)

Back at the house, Nabiki watched as things moved on to the next stage. Tofu had rented a car for the evening to speed things along. He and Kasumi were to join some friends and allies near the restaurant and prepare for when the watchers finally found it. The teenage quartet was out rolling up Daisuke's wiring and putting it away. Their part in the evening's activity was over, and Tofu wanted them safely out of the way. Kasumi had stressed to the four that things would be heating up, and none of them were trained in fighting. Hiroshi and Yuka were going on their date, and Daisuke and Sayuri were heading to a movie and then to a local arcade. Soun was now sitting in shock. Genma and Nodoka had managed to throw off their own feeling of déjà vu and were tending to him. Tofu had spoken to Nabiki and warned her to watch Genma – the Doc was worried that the Panda was up to something. Tofu made Nabiki promise to block Genma if necessary, but the Doc also cautioned Nabiki not to get overly creative. The middle daughter promised (with crossed fingers behind her back) that she wouldn't go overboard. Tofu also mentioned that he guessed that Hinako had gone home, but Nabiki knew he was wrong. Nabiki also wanted a free hand to check up on the teacher…

* * *

Nabiki was right of course – Hinako was still in the house. After getting her fill of watching Akane and Ranma, she had quietly slipped away to Soun's room and was now looking at Kimiko's shrine. Soun still hadn't taken it down despite Kasumi's prodding. His daughter was still determined that it would be moved to somewhere else in the house, but she knew she would have to handle her father carefully to get it done.

Hinako bowed to the shrine and then seated herself cross-legged on the floor. She didn't feel kneeling was appropriate, as she never knew Kimiko in life. She had made an effort to find out all she could about the woman. Some of the motivation was a little jealousy, but really, she just wanted to find out more about the woman that could have such a hold on Soun's psyche. She looked at the photograph of Kimiko and then began speaking: "Hello, it's me again. Sorry to be using your husband's room, but this is much more comfortable than the graveyard. I just wanted to tell you that Akane looked gorgeous tonight. I don't think she will have any trouble with Ranma; he'll be wrapped around her finger in no time. Doctor Tofu works very hard to make Kasumi happy; I think they will have a wonderful life together. I'm hoping to be invited to the wedding. Although, to be honest, I may crash it (quietly) if I'm not."

"Soun is a little better. He's actually has a job now. Somehow Kasumi persuaded him to do it. Now that she's no longer playing the dutiful daughter, she's really become the prime mover in the family. Well actually, she's still the dutiful daughter, but she's not taking any gruff from anyone anymore." Hinako smiled at the picture. "I wonder where she got that trait from."

Hinako paused for a little bit and then continued talking: "Ranma has grown a lot in the last six months, especially since that long absence last February. Something significant happened to him – I wish I knew so I could use it to wake up some of the delinquents I have in my classes. He still has a bit to go, but I'm sure he'll get there now. He loves Akane very much; I think he may have even told her. If not, I'm sure he will tonight. She must know though, because she's been happier with him, even before he asked her out on this date." Hinako laughed a little. "Of course, now she's absolutely over the moon. She's still a good student by the way – I think she rubbed off on Ranma as his grades have gotten better. I'll watch over them as I can."

"Nabiki seems happier these days too. I think getting out beyond Nerima has been very good for her. We had a long chat last weekend on the way back from Ginza. She's doing well in college and she seems more centered these days. I think she also stopped all the scamming. Don't get me wrong, she's still sneaky, but she's exercising it in more socially acceptable ways." Hinako laughed again. "Actually, I think she only does that to stay in practice now. The world of big business will be in a lot of trouble when she gets her diploma. She stopped seeing me as a threat to you, and we get along well now."

Hinako sighed then. "Of course I never wanted to be a threat anyway. I just took a fancy to Soun. But let's be honest, he's still very much in love with you. Besides, given the way I am, it's tough for me to be in any sort of relationship." A small tear escaped from her eye, and she quickly rubbed it away and straightened up. "Still, I hope I can always be a friend to your family – I'm going to work on that. I promise to keep an eye on them from this side of the fence. I suppose I better go before I'm discovered. I promise to visit in a few months and let you know how they are doing."

With that, Hinako stood up and rubbed her legs. She bowed to the shrine and then left the room. Before returning to the family room, a thought struck her and she stopped at the hall window to watch the night sky for a bit. The stars were so clear tonight. "The perfect night for a romance," she thought with a mischievous grin. Then a movement in the yard caught her eye and she focused on it. She saw Nodoka and Genma moving things to the dojo. That was odd. Tofu had rather carefully excluded them from the planning for tonight. "What are they up to?" Hinako thought. She decided that this might need some investigating.

As she passed the bathroom, she never noticed Nabiki hiding in the shadows. Neither of them noticed that a candle on Kimiko's shrine had lit itself…

* * *

"Come along, Genma. We need to get this wedding set up before Akane and Ranma return," Nodoka said to her husband.

"Yes, dear," was the obedient answer. Genma was grumbling in his thoughts though. "This is my idea you stupid woman, why am I doing all the work?" Unfortunately, Genma couldn't call Soun for help. Akane's father had forbidden Akane and Ranma from marrying until the fiancée mess was sorted out, something his lazy son was in no hurry to do anything about. All of Genma's plans were going to go up in smoke unless he could get those two married before Ranma's 20th birthday, otherwise the document in his pocket was worthless. Fortunately, he had the incomplete wedding certificate on him as well. While it didn't have Akane's or Ranma's signatures, it did have Soun's and his. All he had to do was get the couple's signatures on it. Then he could use the property transfer document to sell the dojo quickly; he already had a prospective buyer. Once he did that, he could retire somewhere warm and comfortable – without his crazy wife.

He thought he'd have plenty of time yet to pull off the scam. Ranma's key birthday was still well over a year away after all. But, things were changing rapidly in the house. Kasumi was now the absolute lord and master of the household. Well, all right, that was over-stating it. Truth be known, everyone always had deferred to the young woman, but now her suggestions were delivered with a little more vigor, and the rest of the family (even Nodoka) were obeying them without question. Hell, Kasumi told Soun to get a job, and, lo and behold, Soun did. What was up with that? Genma didn't dare disobey himself – while a diet of bamboo was fulfilling to a panda, it wasn't to Genma's soul.

Now things were changing with Doctor Tofu Ono on the scene as well. There was something unsettling about the man. He knew things he shouldn't, and it was impossible to lie to him. The Doc also seemed to have Soun's absolute trust, more so than Genma ever did. He was causing Soun to look around more, something that was not healthy for Genma. Tofu was also becoming a mentor to Ranma, which really struck a sour note in Genma's stomach. Tofu was teaching the boy new techniques, but he was also teaching Ranma to think for himself and watch for consequences. The boy had always been rebellious, but now he was impossible. None of the old hooks such as honor or marital artist's code seemed to work on Ranma anymore. Oh well. Genma had hoped to have his son as his Go opponent when he retired, but he would find someone else. If Ranma wanted to stay here with the rest of the losers, that was the boy's problem.

Genma set up the altar while his wife was prattling on about how nice it would be to have grandchildren before Ranma had to commit seppuku. After all, it was going to get harder and harder for Ranma to be a "man among men" when he was constantly changing into a girl. Nodoka had already caught him in women's clothes last year on a number of occasions. While she could overlook it while he was a minor, once he became an adult, he'd just have to do the adult thing. She went on to say that she hoped that they could get two or three pregnancies out of Akane before Ranma had to leave them. Genma's blood ran cold at this, because he was expected to join his son. Genma planned to be long gone before that happened though.

"Umm…Excuse me?" came a voice from the door. Ms. Hinako stood there watching the couple work. "What's going on here?"

Nodoka turned toward the pre-teen. "Nothing to worry about, dear. My husband and I are just setting up for Ranma and Akane's wedding. I'm sure they will want to do the right thing after tonight."

"Ah, they're just out for a date. Lots of couples go out for a date and don't get married immediately afterwards. Like, all of them."

"Yes, but couples who go to love-hotels really should get married. Don't you think?"

"Um…maybe. But a have you met your son? Or your prospective daughter-in-law? That's not exactly their style."

"Yes, but I paid the driver ahead of time to take them somewhere appropriate. It was a pain getting the info out of Tofu in time, but I managed to crack him. Once they are there, I am sure the appropriate responses will occur to them."

A light went on in Hinako's head regarding possible final destinations for the evening Tofu told her about. "I see. And what was that bit about seppuku?"

"Just a family commitment that has to be kept. Ranma has known about it since he was four. It's not really your concern." Nodoka was getting impatient with the child; there was still so much to do yet.

"I see." Ms. Hinako said again.

"Now please be a dear and run along. The adults have work to do."

"Yes, yes… not my concern after all… HAPPO FIVE-YEN SATSU!"

* * *

Nabiki looked into the dojo and saw Nodoka and Genma out cold. Ms. Hinako stood over them in her adult form looking absolutely livid. "ARE THEY ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THEIR BLOODY MINDS?!" yelled the teacher.

"Ms. Hinako, I love you. I've wanted to do that for nearly a year now," Nabiki said as she leaned against the dojo doorway.

"Hmph. Be happy you can't, although I admit it beats dying. And you didn't answer the question," Hinako snapped back.

"Well, she's certainly crazy," Nabiki said pointing at Nodoka. "He's just a completely greedy self-centered sociopath. I'll admit to some tendencies along those lines, but Genma has me beat easily. Speaking of which…" Nabiki moved over to Genma and began searching through his clothes. "Let's see what these are…" she said pulling two envelopes out of Genma's pocket. She began looking through them, her face turning grim.

"So, what are those?" Ms. Hinako asked.

"Well, one of them is a marriage certificate filing. It was filled out in preparation for the failed wedding. The dangerous part is that it has my father's signature on it. If Ranma and Akane signed this, they would be legally wed. The other document is even worse. It authorizes the transfer of the house and dojo to 'Ranma and Akane Saotome', and the document is complete."

"Your father wanted to give Ranma and Akane the house?"

"Yep. That was the plan Genma and Daddy cooked up when our couple was born. What the idiots didn't consider was that a 50% inheritance tax automatically kicks in with the transfer. The two would have either been forced to sell the house or be in debt to the Japanese government for the rest of their lives. That's not the dangerous part though. Since both of them are underage, this document actually gives Genma control of the house and dojo until Ranma turns twenty. Want to bet that everyone would be out on the street and Genma would be in another country all together?"

"So Genma owns the house?" Hinako asked.

"No, the document is not legal right now. It hasn't been filed because there is no 'Akane Saotome' yet. But as soon as Akane and Ranma signed the wedding certificate, Genma could file the property transfer. Unfortunately, these documents pre-date the ones Kasumi and I drew up to protect the house, so this would be a done deal. The house would be gone before my family could challenge these," Nabiki said waving the pieces of paper. She then paused to look at the documents. "These are the originals," she continued thoughtfully. "So, there's an easy way to deal with this." She walked over to the make-shift altar and placed the documents in a chafing dish Nodoka had brought into the dojo for some reason. Ms. Hinako smiled as Nabiki grabbed a nearby lighter and touched it to the documents. Both women watched as Genma's plans literally went up in smoke.

As Nabiki used the lighter to make sure nothing but ashes remained, Hinako asked: "What about the seppuku pact Nodoka mentioned?

Nabiki stopped for a moment and thought. "Maybe there's an easy way out of that too…" She went to Nodoka and kneeled down, searching through the woman's clothes. She pulled out a scroll, opened it up, read it, and then sighed. "Not so easy," she said. "This is the pact document, but it's only a copy."

Ms. Hinako took the scroll from Nabiki and read it. "I'm not sure who the bigger monster is, the mother or the father. How did Ranma not grow up to be a psychopath? Ranma was so young at the time – he had to use his hand print. There's no way he knew what this was. This cannot be legal."

"Unfortunately, it's not a matter of legality. Japan doesn't recognize seppuku contracts. It's a matter of family honor. Ranma has to either deny his family, deny his honor, or kill himself. He's starting to learn that there's more to life than honor, but honor is still a big part of who he is. I'm not sure he'll get everything sorted out before his twentieth birthday," Nabiki responded grimly.

"When's that?" Hinako asked.

"A year from January."

"Well, we need to add more doubt to Ranma's mind then," Hinako stated.

"Huh?"

"This document is proof of the pact. We need to destroy the original and any copies. It's not a perfect plan, but without the document, some of the hold Nodoka has on him is gone. With the rest of us working on Ranma, especially Akane, maybe we can get Ranma to see how wrong the idea was in the first place."

Nabiki nodded her head. "You're right, it's not a perfect plan, but it's a definite start. We need to talk to Tofu. First thing's first. We burn this copy. Nodoka's psyche is such that she'll need to make another copy. Maybe she will lead us to where the original is."

"Sounds good."

After they had burned the copy, Hinako took the chafing disk full of ashes and went back to the unconscious couple. She smeared the ashes on Genma's and Nodoka's cheeks and wrote 'Guilty' on their foreheads. Nabiki raised her eyebrows.

"What's that for?" she asked the teacher.

"A little psychological warfare," Hinako answered. "Just a reminder they cannot fool everyone. Besides, I felt like doing something childish – let's just say my two sides are never far apart."

Nabiki smirked at that. "Can you help me dispose of the wedding paraphernalia?" she asked.

"Not a problem," Hinako said as she began ripping down banners.

* * *

Back at the house, someone watched the two women tear down the decorations through the window. "Sorry to enter your thoughts like that, my dear, but I think you just secured your place as a family friend. If you can get Soun to wake up, more power to you." With a grin, Kimiko went to her shrine and blew out her candle, then vanished.


	4. Tale of Two Ninjas (Part 1 – Sasuke)

Chapter 3: Tale of Two Ninjas (Part 1 – Sasuke)

(Takes place at the way-station where Daran as just placed the first town car into lockdown)

"Great. Just bloody great." Sasuke was cursing up a storm. He should have recognized the car for a Ministry vehicle – he had driven them often enough. Back near the dojo, he had crawled under the car, attached himself to the underside, and never checked the license plate. That was sloppy, very sloppy.

Sasuke undid his restraints and lowered himself to the cement ground. He pulled a flashlight out of his tool bag and checked the steel plates sealing him under the car. It would take him thirty minutes to undo one and escape. By then, Ranma and Akane would be long gone. His boss would not be pleased. Hoping for something faster, he scanned the ground and noticed the medium-sized drainage grate. Bingo! He took out some more tools and managed to pop the grate despite his lousy leverage. He was making a lot of noise, but it didn't matter – he had already been discovered and speed was far more important. He'd have to figure out how he was found out later.

He replaced his tools and slid into the exposed hole (a contortionist would have been proud). Making his way down the pipe head first was unpleasant, but at least it was dry. The rats were somewhat annoying though. The pipe terminated in a T-junction. Sasuke decided to head away from the building. He scrambled about 30 meters and found another pipe leading up to another drainage grate. Perfect. Taking a moment to re-arrange tools, he climbed up the pipe and popped the grate with a little work. Now topside, he scanned the area. He was still inside the garage (just). Elapsed time since discovery: five minutes 35 seconds – the escape time would have to do.

Seeing no one, he replaced the grate and ran back past the car into the building. He thought he heard noise from the trunk as he flew by, but didn't stop to investigate. Whoever it was locked in the truck was not getting out, the trunk lid was five centimeters thick steel. If one of the Nerima crew had managed to get in the trunk, they would be fine until they had to explain to who ever owned the car how they got there. Come to think of it, they might have been the reason the car was placed in lockdown rather than Sasuke. That still didn't excuse his sloppiness though…

It took him one minute, thirty-five seconds to find the secret elevator, but there his luck ran out. He had no way to access it. Oh, hell. "C'mon man! Think!" he goaded himself. "Wait. Ministry car. Secret elevator. I am near where I think I am?" He ran the rest of the way through the lobby and out onto the street. A wide grin split his face as he immediately recognized the area. "They wouldn't have switched to a taxi. I know where they have gone to get a new car…and I know some people that owe me a favor or two." He bolted into the night.

Fifteen minutes later, he was on a borrowed motor bike following a suspicious town car discretely through the Tokyo streets. The bike was actually from the same motor pool as the car. Sometimes it helped to know people in low places. He did have to promise that he wasn't on an assassination assignment, but that was easy – this job wasn't even close. As he worked on staying out of sight, he pondered the meeting that he had with his boss yesterday…

* * *

Sasuke had just retrieved Master Tatewaki home for the weekend from college. The young man had called up and summoned Sasuke to fetch him, despite the fact that classes were not yet over for the day. When the ninja tried to point this out, he was promptly reprimanded: "My sister has given me news of tremendous importance. I need to act upon it quickly. Come get me immediately." With a wince, Sasuke agreed.

When they got back, Tatewaki immediately ordered Sasuke to draw his bath, but Kodachi cut him off: "You'll have to ask one of the other servants to do that Brother Dearest. Sasuke has been summoned."

"What? Who can override the Blue Thunder?!"

"There's one person Brother Dearest," Kodachi said. The tone of her voice caught Tatewaki immediately. He realized she wasn't teasing him. "Oh. Sasuke, you'd better go."

"Yes, Master Kuno."

Sasuke drove himself to Tokyo's Financial District. He entered a private parking garage using a special pass he kept hidden (very hidden) and parked on the lowest level of the garage. The same pass allowed him access to a private elevator, which he took to the top floor of the attached building. When the elevators opened, he walked into a foyer where the far side was guarded by two tall ninjas. The ninjas promptly drew their swords and charged Sasuke. Their strokes were perfect and should have bisected the short ninja, but he simply wasn't there. The two quickly looked around. When they glanced up, a net fell on them, followed by two sleep bombs. The ninjas caught the bombs despite the net, and waited for Sasuke to climb down. The free ninja took the sleep bombs back, and removed the net. The three bowed to each other, and Sasuke continued on.

After walking down a short hallway, he came to a set of opaque glass double doors guarded by an electric key pad. Sasuke punched in a code and a retina scan machine popped out of the wall. Placing his eye to the lens, he heard the lock on the doors open, and he walked through the doors. There was a female receptionist on the other side, who nodded to him. Sasuke knew from past training sessions that she was a weapons specialist. He addressed her: "I've been summoned by Master Kuno. Is he available?"

"Yes, Sasuke. He's been reviewing some paperwork while waiting for you," she said.

He winced at that. It was never good to keep the boss waiting. He sighed and straightened up, then nodded to her.

"I don't think you're in any trouble, Sasuke," she said in response to his gesture. "But he is pissed at something. Just make sure that after the meeting, it isn't you."

He nodded again and went up to a large set of wooden double doors. He took off his hood and knocked. "Come in, Sasuke! We need to talk!"

Wincing again, he opened the door and walked into a rather large executive suite. There was fine art on the walls along with an impressive book collection placed neatly in several bookcases. At the far end of the room was a large white desk in front of a glass wall showing an impressive view of the downtown financial district. A tall man in a black suit with lightly graying hair and a very serious face sat at the desk watching the ninja enter. "Have a seat," Toshio Kuno said peremptorily.

Sasuke sat in a chair which automatically adjusted for his height. Actually, its setting also let Sasuke know how angry his boss was with him. Judging from the generous position, Toshio wasn't angry with him at all. It still didn't make the ninja feel any better when Master Kuno glared at him and ask: "Now please tell me what the hell is going on at that nut house!"

Sasuke winced at that. There was just so much to choose from. "Are you referring to the fact that I picked Tatewaki up from school this afternoon?"

"You what? Did that idiot get expelled?"

"No, sir. His sister gave him some unsettling news and he wanted to deal with it himself."

Toshio placed his head in his hands. "What was so important that he skipped his afternoon classes?"

"I wasn't privy to their conversation, sir."

"Don't give me that, ninja. I know you're not as dumb as you pretend. Guess!"

"Ah hell. Here we go…" thought Sasuke. "Well sir, it might have to do with some activities at the Tendo dojo."

Toshio looked up from his hands. His face became very red. When he spoke, Sasuke marveled at the control in his voice despite the obvious anger. "He's going to annoy them again? After I explicitly forbade him?

"Umm…yes sir."

"Soun Tendo has filed a rather large lawsuit against the Kuno family for the destruction of his dojo. Nodoka Saotome has likewise filed a large lawsuit because her home was leveled. I'm trying to keep this as quiet as possible. So far, the families have been persistent in their lawsuit, but they are being polite about this in that they haven't gone to the papers. My lawyers are advising me to settle quickly and generously. I've offered half the requested amount and the families are negotiating with us in good faith. I imagine they will settle for two-thirds and a promise that the Kuno family leave them alone from here on in. And that jackass is trying to tick them off again?!"

"He believes he's in love with Akane Tendo and Ranko Tendo, sir."

Toshio grabbed the top of his head with both hands and looked like he was trying to keep his skull from exploding. "There is no Ranko Tendo" he grated out.

"I'm aware of that, sir. I've tried to demonstrate that on a number of occasions."

"All of Nerima knows of Ranma's curse. How the hell can he NOT?!"

"I don't know, sir. It's not a lack of trying on my part. He seems to deny what his eyes are telling him though."

Toshio got up and went over to a small liquor cabinet. He retrieved two glasses and a bottle of sake. He poured a glass for Sasuke and passed it to him. The ninja took a small sip. Toshio then poured a glass for himself and placed the bottle near him and he sat down again. Then he continued: "I'm afraid to ask this, but it's why I asked you here. What was Kodachi doing buying up half of Ginza last Saturday?"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. "She was trying to buy up any dress than Akane Tendo expressed an interest in."

"So, she was just trying to annoy Akane? But, she spent 2.5 million yen!"

"Yes, sir."

"Where are the dresses now, Sasuke?"

"Donated to charity, sir. I couldn't return the dresses because they were all on clearance." Sasuke took another sip of sake. He knew his boss was going to hate the next set of questions and answers.

"I told Kodachi to leave the Tendos and the Saotomes alone as well. Why was she trying to annoy Akane?"

"She was trying to stop Akane from buying a dress, so Miss Tendo couldn't go on a date with Ranma."

Toshio looked at Sasuke like he had four heads. He then lifted his glass and downed the sake. He placed his head back in his hands. "What else did she do? Is she now following Akane buying up all of Nerima as well?"

"Ah, no. She thought she had stopped Akane cold in Ginza."

"And it never dawned on my niece that Ranma was taking Akane on a date, not a new dress?"

"Honestly? No. The thought that Akane could use an old dress or ask Kasumi to help her never occurred to Kodachi."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because, it didn't occur to me until we were half-way through the shops what was going on. When I told Kodachi this wouldn't work, she just told me to mind my own business – this stunt would have frustrated her, so it must work on Akane. I also figured that this was better than having Kodachi attack Akane – or try to – anyway."

Kuno winced, acknowledging the ninja's unspoken comment. When Kodachi attacked the dojo, she ended up in the hospital for a day or so. An out-and-out attack on Akane could have put his niece in the hospital for a week or two. Fortunately, it wasn't in Akane's nature to actually kill someone. "Did the date actually happen?"

"No, sir. It's tomorrow night."

"Which is what upset Tatewaki," Kuno finished as he poured himself another glass. He topped off Sasuke's glass, then put the bottle away. "Anything else I should know?"

"Probably, sir. The dress hunting expedition was actually a trap for the Amazon Shampoo and Ukyo Kuonji. They stole a dress box from Akane only to have it be a mild booby-trap. Rumor has it that Akane had the dress before she went to Ginza."

Toshio appeared confused for a few moments as he looked at the ninja, and then his face became thoughtful. He raised a hand to his chin and tapped his lips. Slowly a small grin broke out behind the moving finger. Not the reaction Sasuke expected. He dropped the hand and swore lightly shaking his head. "It was a trap for Kodachi too, and she took the bait."

"Sir?"

"Want to bet that Nabiki collected a commission on the dress sales?" the elder Kuno asked.

A light went on in Sasuke head: "Permission to laugh, sir?"

"Not too loudly, ninja," Toshio chuckled. "After all, a Kuno was played for a fool. Still, some amusement is in order. The Tendos and the Saotomes are fighting back finally, on our terms even. What brought that on?"

"I think Ranma and Akane have finally admitted how they feel about one another.

"About time." Kuno took a sip of sake and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he looked at Sasuke again. "I don't see how this will help with the lawsuits. I think things are going to move to their foreordained conclusion there. The real trick is to prevent any more damage. Tell me, Sasuke. Are there any rumors around town regarding this date – you said it was tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir. The town is buzzing with it. The leading rumor is that a couple associated with the Tendo dojo is going to formalize their engagement tomorrow night."

"That's probably what Kodachi told Tatewaki," mused Toshio. "So, tomorrow is also a trap."

"Sir?"

"Come on, man, wake up! You wrote most of the profiles on the Tendos and the Saotomes. What's the chance that Ranma will actually propose to Akane?"

"Actually sir, I think there is a pretty good chance. I'd be very surprised if they weren't married within five years."

"Yes, yes, but would the lad propose tomorrow?"

"Oh, I see. No. Both of them are very shy when it comes to romance."

"Exactly. I'm sure they are going on a date tomorrow, but it's nowhere anyone thinks it is – except you."

"Excuse me sir?"

"You are going to find out where that date is, and you are going make sure nothing happens to the couple. The more solid a romance they have, the less fight I'll have when I send Tatewaki and Kodachi away for a little bit."

"Sir?"

"I'm sending my niece and nephew away for the summer – with any luck, they will be properly heartbroken, and very malleable. Besides, the happier the Tendos and the Saotomes are, the easier it will be to settle the lawsuits."

"But won't Master Tatewaki and Mistress Kodachi charge straight into tomorrow's trap if I'm not there?"

"So what?" shrugged Toshio. At the ninja's surprised expression, Toshio continued: "Whatever the two families have planned for tomorrow will be suitably humiliating, but it won't do any real harm – it's not their style. If my niece and nephew end up coated in molasses and feathers, so be it." He paused thoughtfully for a moment, then went on: "I think I will place a spending cap on Tatewaki's and Kodachi's credit cards though. I'd like to limit Nabiki's gain."

* * *

Sasuke finished his reflection as the car ahead stopped at a light and he turned up a side street to avoid detection. Toshio Kuno had called the residence and told the children that their keeper was on assignment for a few days. Both of them had raised a tremendous fuss at that, but shut up immediately when Toshio also said he was limiting their credit cards and asked if they would like them limited further. Toshio then dispatched three ninjas – two to the house and one to watch over his idiot brother. At least Sasuke had job security as far as Toshio was concerned.

Then the little ninja grinned to himself. He also had job security as far as the other ninjas were concerned as well – Sasuke had never heard such grumbling from his brothers when he slept at the barracks last night. They quizzed the little spy on how long he would be gone, and how long they would have to put up with the 'Nut House'. Sasuke just reminded them that they would not give out such information and neither would he.

While he was very fond of Tatewaki and Kodachi, having looked after them for several years, a vacation (even for a couple of days) was always a good thing. Tonight's job promised to be a break. He liked Ranma and Akane well enough and they were kind to him when he had been down on his luck. This was a good chance to pay them back…

* * *

Reposted on 7/18/13 - Corrected some nasty spelling errors. Thanks to Compucles for finding them.


	5. Tale of Two Ninjas (Part 2 - Konatsu)

Chapter 4: Tale of Two Ninjas (Part II – Konatsu)

(Again, narration starts just after Daran places the first town car into lockdown)

Konatsu heard the bolts slam home and knew he had been discovered somehow, someway. He immediately put on a gas mask, but he needn't have bother. There were no noxious or ultra-sweet fumes anywhere about. Once that was settled, he pulled up the trunk liner and studied his prison via a flashlight. Each bolt was seven centimeters round, homed in on a frame stud that was at least that again. He would waste a lot of time trying to cut that. He traced one of the bolts back to where it vanished under some sheet metal. Taking out a pry bar, he pulled out the sheet metal a little and used a mirror to take a look behind it. What he saw made him smile…it was a geared lock, but the gear was secured using a half centimeter shaft – he could snap that.

Suddenly, he heard a noise under the car. After listening for a moment, he decided that he wasn't the only stowaway. Maybe that's why the car had been placed in lockdown. The other person must have tripped a warning system or something. He'd make sure they could breathe once he got out, but he couldn't spare them any further time – he needed to catch up with Ranma and Akane.

* * *

Earlier that day…

Konatsu sat on top of one of Nerima's movie theaters thinking. Ukyo had just proclaimed that she was closing the restaurant for the day. She wanted Konatsu to take his day off today and go see the rest of Tokyo. It was time the ninja broadened his horizons beyond this little Ward. His mistress had proclaimed that she was going to baby herself today and wanted a little guaranteed privacy. He was not to report back today until 11PM tonight. She then gave her servant three thousand yen (which set off alarm bells in Konatsu's head), and told him to get lost in tones that brooked no argument.

He wasn't fooled for one minute. She hadn't learned her lesson yet. She was going to try and intercept the Date tonight. Konatsu had heard all the rumors and knew exactly what happened last weekend. He saw the setup coming a mile away. He told Ukyo tonight was a trap. *If* there was a date tonight, they would be ready for her and the rest. Wasn't it proof enough that she had spent two days trying to get rid of the stink bomb smell (fortunately, it had dissipated by itself on the third day).

She claimed to have no interest in Ranma after he set her up in such a blatant way. If he wanted to take up with that hussy Akane, that was no concern of Ukyo's. She would consider that the Saotomes had defaulted on their honor oath and that was the end of it – she was doing well enough without the moron. The Kunoichi knew she was lying, but the speech left him without an avenue to pursue. Calling his Mistress a liar was not something he was willing to do. In the end, he bowed his acceptance, promised not to follow her today, and took his leave.

So, he now had 3000 yen in his pocket, a nice warm day in front of him, and the knowledge of coming disaster for his Mistress. He thought over his options. He could go to Ranma and ask him to spare Ukyo, but there were certain flaws in that thought: (A) The trap would likely be a general trap for any would be pursuers, (B) Ranma could counter that Ukyo wasn't taking any other types of hints, and (C) if there was a Date tonight – Ranma and Akane wouldn't be anywhere near the trap. Of course, Konatsu admitted that he was being overly dramatic; both Akane and Ranma were still fond of Ukyo – they would never actually do anything to permanently harm the woman. Like the stink bomb, the punishment would be direct and to the point, but ultimately harmless. He sighed. This was getting him nowhere. Maybe he needed someone he could talk to; maybe someone in a similar bind. He decided to go to the Cat Café and see Mousse.

At the Cat Café, the ninja crept silently around the building. He heard Shampoo and Cologne talking in the main room.

"Child," the old woman said. "This is over. Ranma has made his choice. The first volley was a warning shot. Tonight will be another trap, to back up the first and drive the point home."

"But if the rumors are true," argued Shampoo. "Then the couple will be engaged after tonight."

"They have been engaged since before you showed up on the scene," Mousse put in.

"Shut up you stupid duck! This is a conversation for your superiors," Shampoo yelled. Surprisingly enough, Mousse didn't respond to that.

"He's right though. Ranma considers Akane his fiancée," Cologne said wearily.

"One of two!" Shampoo shot back.

"I'm not sure of that anymore, and he doesn't consider you one at all," Cologne retorted.

"I'M HIS WIFE!" yelled Shampoo.

Konatsu heard Cologne hit Shampoo on the head. "Enough of that 'WIFE'. If you're his wife, you better consider a divorce quickly then," Cologne said sternly.

"What?" asked Shampoo in astonishment.

Cologne continued: "What happened at Jusendo is getting out. The Musk have been talking to the Phoenix people under a flag of truce. Prince Herb wants the story. It's only a matter of time before it reaches the village. Ranma defeated Prince Herb *and* killed the Phoenix King. Once the village hears about Saffron's death, the only way you can take Ranma back to the village will be enslaved or dead. Think you can pull that off?"

Konatsu only heard a long silence.

"Exactly!" the old woman said with finality in her voice. "To save face, you need to start the divorce process. We will claim Ranma is sterile or something."

"No! I didn't come all this way to give up!" Shampoo said forcefully. "I can stop this date and get Kitchen-Wrecker to give up on Ranma. Then he'll fall in love with Shampoo and I'll enslave him with love, as it should be!"

"That plan hasn't worked to date," Mousse said.

There was a scuffle inside of the café and Konatsu heard a table break. "GET OUT!" screamed Shampoo.

"Fine!" Mousse said. "I'm going to the bookstore!"

"Be back by 4PM for the dinner party," Cologne yelled. "I want to know where you are tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Mousse muttered as a door slammed open. Konatsu knew where to find Mousse now, so he stayed a little longer to here the rest of the conversation.

"Shampoo," Cologne said in a persuasive voice, "they are ready for you. Tonight's a trap. Something has changed at the Tendo dojo. I'm not sure what it is, but Ranma, Akane, Kasumi, and Nabiki are working in concert now. They rule the dojo, not the parents. There's something else there as well – several somethings actually. It's not just the dojo though – it's Ranma in particular too. He's starting to really grow up and take responsibility for himself. He's not a copy of Genma."

"I have to try Grandmother. I'm looking at an enormous loss of face if I go back without Ranma. He's just a man – he cannot stand against Shampoo."

"Ranma is more than just a man. Part of him is also a woman – a superior. There's also the cat in him. It's growing stronger as well."

"I'm also part cat, Grandmother. I can relate to him in a way Kitchen-Wrecker cannot."

"That's not true at all, Shampoo. Ranma's cat side is even more in love with Akane than the man-side is. She's the only one who can control him. The cat just sees you as an intruder."

"I'll bring him around, Grandmother."

"No, you won't dear, but some things you must learn the hard way. Do as you will." Cologne sighed, and Konatsu heard her move off. He heard Shampoo sit down, probably to plot and plan. He moved on to pursue Mousse.

Since he had met the young man last weekend, Konatsu made a point of learning about him. One of the most immediate things the ninja noted was the one particular bookstore that Mousse made a point of visiting at least every other day. It was rather large and had a vast collection that Mousse loved to browse through. Mousse made a point of buying all the newspapers Cologne requested from there and of purchasing at least one book a month as well. Since the owners knew of Mousse's low income, they were tolerant of his browsing (he was also good for at least two cups of coffee).

Konatsu found Mousse on an upper floor, browsing a book on Japanese folk stories. The ninja made no secret of his approach, so Mousse was aware and curious before Konatsu said a word. The Chinese man was the first to greet the other: "Hello there. You're Konatsu, yes?"

Konatsu gave a polite smile and bowed. "And you are the Amazon Mousse. May I join you?"

Mousse indicated a chair next to him. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

Konatsu figured that the man came here for peace, so he decided to get straight to the point. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you seemed to be someone who could understand my point of view." Mousse shrugged, so Konatsu continued: "You're aware of what is to happen tonight? The trap that Ranma's and Akane's rivals will walk into?"

Mousse smiled briefly. "As is most of Nerima. That's the problem with having an obsession." His expression grew rueful. "You tend to ignore what's right in front of your face."

"Are you worried about them?" Konatsu asked.

"Ranma and Akane? No, they have things covered, and there are a lot of people helping them tonight. Hopefully, they will have a good date," Mousse replied.

"No." The Kunoichi shook his head. "I meant Shampoo, Ukyo, and the rest."

Mousse's eyebrows shot up. "The Fiancée Brigade? Definitely not. They can take care of themselves," he said.

"You're not concerned about Shampoo at all?" Konatsu said with surprise.

"Oh, of course I'm concerned about her. Her obsession may destroy her if she's not careful. It may hurt the village too."

"And yourself?" the ninja followed up.

"I've already taken a lot of damage from it. I use to ambush Ranma frequently and get my head handed to me," Mousse said with another rueful look.

"That could be a problem," the ninja agreed. "What made you stop?"

"Ranma and I ended up doing some traveling together," Mousse answered. "You tend to get to know someone when you do that. Eventually, it dawned on me that he didn't love Shampoo – he loves Akane. We were not rivals. Since then, I still ambush him to stay in practice. Since he knows I'm not *that* serious, he pulls his punches, although I think he may have always pulled his punches to tell the truth. It's sort of like before, except we tend to get a snack afterwards. We cannot spar at the dojo, or it will be seen as fraternizing with the enemy. What about yourself? You look after Ukyo. How do you feel about Ranma?"

Konatsu shrugged. "He and Akane are my friends. They and Ukyo helped me out of a bad spot."

Mousse gave a short laugh. "That's Ranma to the core. He can be the biggest jerk in the world, but when push comes to shove, he's the first one to help you out. He and Akane are a well matched set."

"Akane?" Konatsu asked surprised.

"Don't get me wrong. Akane can be a really sweet girl. If you are in trouble, she's a great friend to have. Just don't ever tick her off. If you do, make sure there are no breakables about – like cars, buildings, mountains…"

"Hmmm…I've never seen that, but I can believe it thinking about it," Konatsu said thoughtfully.

Mousse grinned. "Don't let it worry you – someone needs to keep Ranma in line."

"So what will you be doing about this evening?" Konatsu asked.

"Shampoo doesn't need me to watch her," Mousse replied. "The crew will prevent her from coming to any serious harm. There may be some serious humiliation involved, but maybe it will wake her up. So… I will be delivering dinner to an office party and staying to act as a waiter. Cologne was very happy to get the weekend business since we only see the lunchtime crowds anymore."

"You're not involved then?" Konatsu pursued.

"Not really. I need to keep my involvement low key," Mousse said with a shrug. "Last weekend it was easy to hide my involvement. Tonight, it will be impossible. I do hope Akane and Ranma have a great time – someone has to win here, and it certainly won't be me. So it might as well be them. I was the one Tofu used as a sounding board though. That was my contribution."

"Doctor Tofu's the one behind this? I didn't know that," the ninja commented

"Then you should probably forget it – I need to keep my mouth shut sometimes," Mousse said with a wince.

"I won't say a word," Konatsu promised.

"Thanks," Mousse grinned. "Somehow I already knew we were on the same side. So what will you do?"

"Oh, probably the same things you're doing – maintaining a low profile and waiting to pick up the pieces." Konatsu stood up then. "Speaking of which, there are some supplies I need to get. Thank you for yet again providing a 'sounding board'."

The Chinese gentleman smiled at him. "You're welcome. I'll be here for the next few hours if you need anything."

Konatsu bowed and took his leave. As Konatsu stepped outside the building, he considered his next move. He had promised not to follow Ukyo, so he couldn't do that. She wanted him out of Nerima too, but he hadn't promised that – just that he would leave her alone. He would go people watching in the shopping district for a while – he was still trying to figure out money in spite of (or maybe because of) the lessons Nabiki Tendo gave him. After that, he had a sure way to avoid Ukyo – he would follow Ranma and Akane and watch over them instead.

* * *

Konatsu had to make quick work of four bolt mechanisms before he could pop the trunk, spending most of the time locating the mechanisms. While he wasn't quite as strong as Ranma, he wasn't a slouch either and he could match speed with the pig-tailed boy – it took him six minutes, fifty seconds to escape the trunk. He quickly listened through the car's lower plating to check on the other person, but he was pretty sure they were gone. He was positive he heard a steel-on-concrete grinding about a minute, thirty seconds into his own escape attempt. The silence after that indicated that the other stowaway was talented, something Konatsu would have to watch out for.

He stood up and looked around. The problem was he didn't know where he was or where the others had gone. He took a deep breath through the nose and sampled the air. Having been brought up as a Kunoichi did have its advantages – he could identify people by their perfumes and colognes, and even track them in still air. He picked up a woman's scent that must have been Akane's and two colognes that must have belonged to Ranma and the driver. He decided the sharper one was probably Ranma. However, there was an even more pungent smell hanging in the air – the smell of a stale sewer pipe. There was also a trace of it coming from under the car. He followed the heavy scent into the building and out the other side of the lobby, just in time to see the source take a corner at high speed. The Kunoichi quickly decided that his unknown companion would only be moving at that speed if he/she was following someone, and that someone had to be the target couple. Knowing he was rolling the dice here, Konatsu tore off after the shadow.

* * *

Next: The Suitors meet Kimiko


	6. To Stop a Date (Part I – Kimiko)

Chapter 5: To Stop a Date (Part I – Kimiko)

Ukyo looked at Shampoo. "Any luck?" she asked the Amazon.

The purple-haired girl turned to Ukyo. "No, Ranma and Kitchen-Wrecker shielding. There's false trails all over the place, but real trail not visible. Can your ninja help us?"

"No, I sent him away for a bit. He'd only try and talk us out of it or delay us further – especially after last weekend," Ukyo replied.

Shampoo gritted her teeth remembering the previous weekend. Grandmother had withdrawn her support after that incident. Never had she known the Elder to abandon an idea like that before. Shampoo was sure her Grandmother was withholding information, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Meanwhile, Tatewaki was yelling into his phone, "What do you mean you lost them? There are fifteen of you! Surely one of you must have seen the limousine? The thing was six/seven meters long!" After listening to the answer, Kuno was about to slam his phone into the ground, and then thought better of it. Instead he just put it away and fumed.

Kodachi was a lot more patient though. She was up on a roof looking around. The gymnast had taken to the air quickly and actually saw the limousine take a corner and vanish. She didn't believe in magic, but she didn't disbelieve it either. Either way, she was sure if she was patient, it would re-appear. That had been fifteen minutes ago. Still she waited while watching her brother and rivals scrounge below. Five more minutes past and her brother's ninjas found her on the roof, just watching and waiting.

"Mistress, are you all right?" one asked.

"Yes," she answered. "Keep searching, I'm sure the trail will appear shortly."

The ninja was about to disagree when his brother stopped him. With a shake of his head, he dissuaded the first from saying anything else. Instead, the ninjas just moved on.

Ten minutes later, a rooftop door opened behind her. "Lady Kuno!" a voice called out.

"Yes, where is he?" she asked.

The person, a male in his mid-thirties, stepped out of the doorway. "How did you know I would tell you where Ranma is?"

"You are Fate. Ranma is my Beloved. Speak," Kodachi answered and commanded.

The man was slightly taken aback by the otherworldly answer. He thought about backing away until a knife appeared at his throat. "Answer my Mistress!" a voice commanded.

The man swallowed and obeyed: "He is in the Northwest corner of Nerima, just at the border. He's at a restaurant called 'Geppetto's'. It is on Star Avenue."

"Thank you, Fate. You may go now," she dismissed him.

The ninja with the knife was a little less trusting. He placed his knee in the small of the informant's back. "Why would 'Fate' tell my Mistress where Saotome is?" he whispered menacingly.

"Because 'Fate' has a million yen ticket on your Mistress to wed Saotome at 75:1," the man grunted out.

"Show me the ticket," the ninja commanded.

Grudgingly, the informant reached slowly into his pocket and brought out a slip of paper, turning it in the full moonlight until the ninja removed the knife from his throat. "That's a pretty good reason," the ninja admitted.

"Damn straight," the man answered. "There's a group of us that bet on your Mistress. We've been looking out for that damn limo for the past half hour. One of us saw it go down Star and followed it."

"All right. Get lost," the ninja commanded.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" The man fled back down the rooftop staircase.

Kodachi seemed lost in thought while this exchange was going on. "Soon, my dearest," she whispered to herself. "Soon we will be together and you will know the joy of loving me." With that, she twirled her ribbon out into the night and vanished after it. Her laughter echoed across the rooftops.

* * *

Four blocks over, Shampoo and Ukyo heard the laughter. "Sounds like the nutcase has a lead," Ukyo told the Amazon.

"Well, Shampoo doesn't, so we might as well follow unless Spatula Girl has a better idea."

"No, I don't, and one of these days, I'm going to teach you my name," Ukyo answered Shampoo.

"Much more descriptive," Shampoo bantered. "First things first – we have date to wreck!"

* * *

Tatewaki's phone rang. "Yes?"

He listened for a moment, and then answered: "Don't lose her. She may hurt my Fierce Tigress! Contact the ninjas guarding her and remind them who signs the checks!"

* * *

The parade eventually ran down Star Avenue to where it left Nerima. Just over the border was a stark 15-story black building with thick heavy black curtains on every level, but the lower four. The two bottom levels were obviously a restaurant – people could be seen through the frosted glass eating and drinking. The third floor was well lit, but it was not apparent what was there. The fourth floor held what appeared to be a dance hall. There was a small sign lit up over the door that said "Geppetto's". There were two small neon hearts, one on either side of the solid wood door. A little ways down the street, was the limo that Akane and Ranma had used for their escape.

Ukyo looked up and down at the building. There was something familiar about the setting that set off a great unease. She took in the black curtains and the two glowing hearts. Suddenly it clicked. "Oh, my god!" she said out loud. "It's a love hotel! The restaurant is below a love hotel!" While Ukyo had never been in one, she was aware of them.

Shampoo felt a shiver go up her back. "Is that what Shampoo thinks it is?"

"Yes," Ukyo replied. "It's a place couples go to get some time away from their children or parents. It's also a place to have a discrete affair. With a full service restaurant on the lower levels, no one could say if a person was here for a meal, or an assignation. It's the perfect cover, especially if the restaurant is any good."

Shampoo took a deep whiff of the air. "It smells pretty good. It serves Italian food," she commented.

Kodachi looked in horror at the place. "My Ranma would never take that slut here!" she yelled.

"Watch your tongue, sister!" Tatewaki yelled back at her. "That cur would certainly come here, but my Fierce Tigress would never come here unless she was tricked or held captive. I must rescue her!" With that he ran across the street and grabbed the door. He yanked on the door, but it wouldn't open.

"Weakling," Shampoo sniffed as she caught up to him and pushed him out of the way. She pulled hard on the door, but the door refused to yield to her either. She backed up, tensed and leaped forward, a move that had shattered many a thick wall, but the door held without showing any signs of stress. "What is this made of?" the Amazon asked.

Ukyo held her tongue. If the Amazon was having an issue with the door, then there was something unusual about it. Instead, the chef rang the door bell, but there was no sound. Kodachi began to bang on the door while yelling for someone to come. Soon, they were all banging on the door.

After about five minutes of this, the top of the door opened and a middle-aged woman looked out crossly at them. "What's all the commotion about?" she said. "Ring the bloody bell if you want someone to answer!"

"We did!" Ukyo yelled back. "It doesn't work!"

"What?" the woman asked. She leaned out and pressed the doorbell – again there was no sound. The woman began cursing. When she stopped, she began taking apart something just out of sight inside the building. "Bloody repairman! If you want something done, you have to do it yourself!" She pulled out two bare wires. "You there, lad!" she shouted. "Be of service to your community and hold these for a second.

Tatewaki looked like he was about to argue, but then figured that if he humored the woman, they might get in faster. He grabbed the wires and the woman leaned out and pressed the doorbell. The three young women listened to their intuition and backed up quickly. The wannabe samurai became very stiff and was lit up by a blue electric glow, complete with his hair standing on end. The doorbell rang sharply from inside the building.

"There! That's better!" the woman exclaimed as she released the doorbell. She took the wires out of Kuno's hands and shut the upper door. Kuno stood there with a glazed look on his face, smoking slightly. Kodachi sighed and pushed her brother out of the way and rang the doorbell.

The woman opened the top again. "What do you want now?" she asked crossly.

"We wish to enter your fine establishment," Ukyo cut in quickly before Kodachi could open her mouth and alienate the woman.

"Do you have a reservation?" the cross woman asked.

"What? Do you kn…" Kodachi started, but Shampoo slapped a hand across her mouth.

"We are with the Saotome party," Ukyo stated firmly.

The woman looked suspiciously at Ukyo, then picked up a nearby reservation book. "There's no 'Saotome' in the book," the woman grumped at her.

"Maybe it's under Kitchen-Wrecker's name?" Shampoo whispered to the chef.

"Oh, then it's probably under 'Tendo'," Ukyo stated confidently. Off to the side, Tatewaki began to return to them.

The woman searched through the book. "Here it is," she said after a few seconds. "But it's only a party of two, not six."

"Oh dear," Ukyo said with a sigh. "It looks like there has been a mistake."

"Well, I didn't make it," the woman snapped.

"Oh no!" Ukyo said with extra sincerity thrown in for good measure. "I never said you did! But, if you could just let us speak to them, so we can get the matter resolved? It would really be appreciated. Please?"

"Hmph," the woman grunted. "'Please' goes a long way. Describe them!" she commanded.

Ukyo paused then spoke: "The woman, Ms. Tendo, stands about so tall." She motioned with her hands for the appropriate height, and continued. "Her hair is blue-black and she has brown-eyes. The man has black hair worn in a long pig-tail and he has very bright eyes.

"Well, I suppose you'd hardly pick a fight with those two. All right, follow me she said." The woman turned, missing the looks the three women threw each other. Kodachi grabbed her brother and dragged him in after the woman opened the bottom half of the door.

"Oh, thank you very much," Shampoo gushed as the woman turned to lead them into the restaurant.

The most surprising thing about the restaurant was the amount of wood everywhere. Even the structural beams seemed to be wood. The lighting was subdued, allowing for shadows to hide in the corners. All the seating was arranged as booths with very tall backs, which seemed to hide the occupants. "A perfect place for a hidden affair," Ukyo thought. There was a European instrumental piece playing through the hidden speakers. The food smelled very good.

"I had to place the two along the main aisle, otherwise the other customers would complain," the woman told them, which confused the four stalkers. However, up ahead they saw Akane talking to a pig-tailed man. The booth the couple sat in was different from all the others in that it was brightly lit.

Shampoo dodged around the woman leading them and broke into a run screaming, "Die, Husband-Stealer!"

Tatewaki ignored Shampoo as his own madness descended. "Saotome! I'll put an end to your evil ways now!" As he ran, he reached back over his shoulder and pulled out a short sword he had hidden under his clothes and across his back.

Shampoo and Kuno reached the booth at the same time. The blue-black hair woman rose to meet Shampoo. Shampoo leaped at the woman with her arms extended intending to snap the neck of her victim, but the woman swept Shampoo's arms to the side with one hand pinning them against the booth and grabbed Shampoo's throat with the other hand. She then effortlessly lifted the Amazon off of the floor and held her in the air as Shampoo struggled for breath.

Kuno slashed at the man only to find the man wasn't there. Kuno's sword embedded itself in the wood of the booth and became stuck. As Tatewaki tried to free it, the man dropped down from above and landed on the blade snapping it. With one continuous motion, he head-butted Kuno, breaking Tatewaki's nose. As Kuno recoiled, the man's fist shot out, slamming into Kuno's jaw and knocking the phony samurai to the ground senseless. The man then grabbed the wrist he struck Kuno with and hunched over it slightly in apparent pain.

Ukyo stopped in surprise, both at seeing Shampoo defeated so effortlessly and in getting a good look at the couple. The woman was not Akane! She could be Akane's twin except for the fact that this woman was about ten to fifteen years older than Akane. She wore a pure white gown that seemed to move as if in a breeze. The man looked a lot like Ranma, but his eyes were a gold color and he looked about ten years older. He was dressed in black, head to toe. He was also nursing his hand which Ranma would never do. (1)

Kodachi had stopped as well upon not recognizing the couple. "Who are you?" Kodachi demanded.

Akane's double looked at Kodachi and caused Kodachi to back up and look down at the ground. Ukyo swore she heard flesh sizzling with that look. The chef clamped her mouth shut.

The woman turned her attention to the Amazon struggling in her grip. Her eyes blazed with such anger that Ukyo swore Shampoo would be consumed by their fire. Suddenly, the eyes cooled and the woman let out a sigh. "It's been twelve years," she said softly. "Twelve years and I still have issues. Ah, my poor daughter; may you be stronger than your mother." The woman's eyes focused on Shampoo again. Ukyo read cool contempt in those eyes as the woman casually hurled Shampoo into a wall. The gesture had seemed so gentle, but the end result was not. The Amazon slid down the wall, grabbing at her own throat, gasping for breath still.

The woman looked at Shampoo. "Hear me, warrior Xian Pu," the woman said pronouncing the name perfectly. Shampoo's eyes widened. "You can be very grateful I am not a killer. But be forewarned, were you to give me the 'Kiss of Death', your own heart would stop between one clock tick and the next. As it is, your death snaps at your heels with the course you are on. Unless you change your path, you will never see your village again." The Amazon paled at the pronouncement and her eyes became very wary.

The blue-black haired woman turned to her companion and asked: "Are you all right, my friend?"

The golden-eyed man answered with some strain: "Unlike my sons, I am not a warrior. I make a better lover than a fighter." There was a slight hissing quality to his voice which also sounded slightly on the high side.

"Well, something must be rubbing off on you. You did just fine," she responded.

She reached out and hit a pressure point on the man's injured wrist. Instantly, the man straightened up, and the pain left his eyes. "Thank you, Kimiko. One of the disadvantages of being mortal." (2)

Ukyo gathered her courage. "Who are you?" the chef asked.

"You would do better to wonder who you are, Ukyo Kuonji. I think it's high time you actually found out. In fact, it's long overdue. Otherwise, you will continue to make a fool of yourself," Akane's double answered. She looked down at Tatewaki. "Get up, idiot," she commanded, tapping his foot with her foot.

Kuno stirred and struggled to sit up. Once up, he peered at the woman before him. "Akane? My Fierce Tigress?"

The woman's lips curled into a snarl. "Akane is not 'your fierce tigress', moron. She can barely stand the sight of you these days. Once she held some pity for you in her heart despite the hell you put her through, but these days, she's had enough. She's never loved you and never will. If she ever woke up and found herself married to you, she'd kill you then and there." Tatewaki opened his mouth to deny that angrily, but his anger died looking at the coldness in the woman's eyes. The woman continued: "It's time to put away your delusions of grandeur, and develop your adequacies. I think you'll find out they are more than enough."

The blue-black haired woman turned her attention to the last of the four interlopers. Her eyes softened a little as she addressed Kodachi. "I wish you were my daughter, Kodachi Kuno, so I could give you the love and the spanking you so richly deserve. Ranma cannot heal you, little one. He can't even heal himself. But, he's reaching out to one who can, and it's not you. There's hope for you too elsewhere, but you have to let go of the pain first." Kodachi began sobbing quietly.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then the man spoke: "Why don't we head to the bar, Kimiko. We can finish our discussion in peace."

"That sounds good, my friend. Let me finish here…" she answered. Kimiko drew herself up, her eyes becoming stern as she looked at the four teenagers. "You've managed to trick your way in, and now you're here. If there is a single brain cell among the four of you, you'll high-tail it out of here and go home. There's nothing here for you but pain and heart-break."

"That's all there is waiting for me at home, too," Ukyo told her sharply.

"Yes, that's true," Kimiko admitted. "But, if you go home, you'll cry for a day or two. The pain will hurt for a while, but it too will fade, and then something remarkable will happen."

"What's that?" Kodachi asked with a hushed voice.

"You'll heal. You will start to get better – even you Kodachi."

"That will never happen," the girl said bitterly.

"You're wrong…but if you stay here, the pain will only get worse. You will journey deeper into the emptiness of the abyss, and it will take you that much longer to get out, and even more time to heal."

"I am an Amazon warrior," Shampoo declared proudly. "I do not fear pain!"

"And I do not either, little wildcat, but I'm wise enough to know that pain means something is wrong and needs to be corrected – not wallowed in. Anyway, my friend and I need to discuss the upcoming wedding of our two youngest. We need to get an early start on things and opportunities like this rarely come up. Good day to you all – do as you will." With that, Kimiko took the arm the golden-eyed man offered, and he led her off deeper into the building.

* * *

A/N:

(1) The golden-eyed man was introduced in Chapter 12 of "Brothers". His form changes as it please him – except for the eyes. If he seems a little too brave here – keep in mind even a coward will fight if you back him into a corner.

(2) Please see the end of the Introduction of "Kasumi's Fate" for who Kimiko is. You can probably figure it out from the context of this chapter. If not, there is more info in Chapter 8 of "Kasumi's Fate".


	7. To Stop a Date (Part II - Distractions)

Chapter 6: To Stop a Date (Part II – Distractions)

Shampoo picked herself up. "Who does she think she is?" the warrior yelled.

"Someone who kicked your butt without breaking a sweat," Ukyo told her. Shampoo just glared at her.

"She's an enchantress," Tatewaki proclaimed while holding his nose. "A false omen designed to lead me astray from my noble quest to free my Akane."

"Shut up, brother dearest," Kodachi said in a low voice. Kodachi felt a migraine coming on and held her head. The strange woman had reached in and touched a hidden part of her heart. The touch burned.

Shampoo strode off into the restaurant. "Ranma's mine! The Kitchen-Wrecker can't have him!" she threw back over her shoulder.

The words sparked anger in Ukyo's heart, but she let the Amazon go. She needed to regain her balance that Kimiko destroyed. "Kimiko," she thought to herself. "Where have I heard that name before? And who was the man? He also seemed familiar ignoring the fact that he looked like Ranma…"

Tatewaki's nose was swelling up like a balloon. He tried to stand up, but dizziness overcame him. Kodachi snapped out of her funk and grabbed him, trying to keep him from falling. "Kuonji!" the girl shouted. "Please help me with him!"

Uyko found herself moving. She wasn't sure if it was the surprise that Kodachi called out her proper name, the surprise at the request, or just because she couldn't let a fellow human suffer. She ducked under Tatewaki and executed a fireman's carry. As she took his weight, she looked at Kodachi. "The booth the couple just left – push the table to one side and we will lay him on one of the benches," Ukyo commanded. Kodachi did as she was told. Ukyo placed the male Kuno on the bench while Kodachi helped by guiding the body.

Kodachi looked at her brother's pale face. "What's wrong with him?" she asked. It was the first time Ukyo had ever heard panic in the female Kuno's voice. "He's broken his nose many times before!"

Ukyo voice cut across Kodachi's panic like a whip: "The broken nose isn't that severe to be dangerous, but he's going into shock! We need to elevate his feet, but no higher than his waist!" Kodachi did as she was told grabbing an empty chair and setting Tatewaki's feet on it. Some of the color began to come back to Tatewaki's face. "Good. Now grab another chair and sit with him. I'm going to find a waiter or waitress and get some help." Again, Kodachi did as she was told.

Ukyo rose and almost crashed into a waiter. The two had to steady each other to avoid falling. "I'm sorry, ma'am," the waiter apologize.

"Never mind," she told him. "My friend just fell and broke his nose," she lied. "He just went into shock and needs help. Can you call a doctor?" She led the young man over to Kuno.

The waiter looked at Tatewaki and checked his color. "I'm an ambulance driver during the day," he told the women. "Off hand, I think you avoided severe shock, but that nose needs to be looked at sooner rather than later."

Unfortunately, Tatewaki was starting to come around. "No!" he said in a muffled voice. "I have to rescue my Beloved!"

"Sir," the waiter told him. "You need to go to a hospital and get the nose looked at."

"No, I must find her!" Kuno insisted.

The waiter sighed; he had seen drunk idiots like this before. "Fine. Wait here while I find a doctor."

* * *

Shampoo wandered through the restaurant looking for Ranma and Akane. She knew they were here under Akane's name somewhere. However, the restaurant seemed huge. It didn't look this big from the outside. The archaic decorative style wasn't helping either; she had to check every nook and cranny to see who was there. The Amazon was also losing her sense of direction and getting turned around unintentionally. At one point, she managed to find a corner of the building and turned around only to almost knock over a waitress.

"Excuse me," she told the woman, catching an empty glass before it hit the floor. Shampoo put the glass on the tray and looked at the waitress's face. "Soap?" escaped from her mouth before she could stop it.

"I'm sorry about that ma'am." The waitress paused and then continued: "Did you say you were looking for the bathroom?"

"Soap?" Shampoo repeated. "Is that you?"

The waitress smiled. "No, I am called Qing."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You looked like someone I knew from home," Shampoo told her.

"It happens, ma'am," the waitress forgave her. "Please excuse me." She walked away from Shampoo, but just before she turned a corner, she looked back at the Amazon, waved, and said "Shishen."

Shishen?

Shampoo ran to the corner, but the woman was nowhere in sight.

Shishen?

Shampoo sat down hard in an empty booth. 'Shishen' was a word from her people. 'Shishen' literally meant "Die well in battle." It was what comrades said to each other before the final charge – the maneuver they knew they wouldn't win, but they we determined to take as many of the enemy with them as they could before they died. Was that what she was doing? She had tried to snap Kimiko's neck because she thought the woman was Akane, but even Akane would have countered the attack – most likely with a kick to the throat snapping Shampoo's neck. Even if Shampoo had somehow been successful, Ranma would have instantly killed Shampoo, and then himself most likely. Three dead, no winners. Was that all that was left for her? To die in battle?

As she thought on that, Kimiko's warning came back to her. Shampoo *was* on the wrong path. She had allowed herself to become tainted by this world and believe that love conquered all – Love was the end all be all. In Shampoo's world, love was something nice, like a hot fudge sundae, but hardly necessary. What was necessary was survival – her survival and her people's survival. The Amazons were surrounded by a foreign force: the Han Chinese. To resist the advance, the Amazons needed to absorb as much power as they could while denying their enemies as much power as possible.

Ranma was power. Her people needed power. Shampoo was sent to get him. Period. End of story.

Her love for Ranma didn't matter. Akane's and Ranma's obligations to each other didn't matter. What did matter was splitting them up and getting Ranma back to the village. Killing Akane would not get Ranma to the village. Shampoo would have to let go of that particular 'Kiss of Death' – not that it was valid anymore anyway. Grandmother had been right from the beginning - Shampoo had to break them up, turn Ranma against his world, and get him to see that his only true path was with the Amazons. That meant stopping this date, and then the next one, and then the one after that. There were many steps after that process, but first things first: stop this date.

With that conclusion, Shampoo got up from the table and began looking for the couple again.

* * *

Soap watched Shampoo leave the restaurant section with a sigh. She turned to the creature sharing the booth with her. "I'm sorry, Tallec. I failed," she told the red-furred man.

"Not entirely," the fox told her. "You changed her from a homicidal maniac to a warrior again. Granted, I would have been happier to see her change into a human warrior instead of a caricature of a warrior, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. And I got 2000 points from the deal. You fulfilled our bargain as far as I am concerned."

"Then you'll fix my grand-niece's leg?" Soap asked hopefully.

"Promise. The deformity is not genetic, so there's no danger of passing it on. She's young enough that I can do it and have it take. As soon as I'm finished here, I'll tend to your namesake."

Impulsively, the warrior reached out and gave the fox's paw a squeeze. The Kitsune winked at her as it stood up.

"You know, it's funny," she said to the creature. "It never seemed to enter her mind that I died ten years ago and 'shishen' was the last thing I said to her."

"She has some interesting mental blocks," the Kitsune agreed. "In the meantime, the spell lasts until midnight. You might as well have a drink, some food, and relax before you have to return to the Endless Battle. If I need you again, I'll find you, so think of something else you'd like to bargain for. You're also free to strike a bargain with someone else. Some more volunteers just wandered through the front door and I need to attend to them before my brothers and sisters scoop them up." With that, he vanished.

* * *

The doctor was a grizzled old man wearing a frumpy overcoat and a floppy hat. He looked at Tatewaki's nose and said: "You'd be better off in a hospital, young man."

"I cannot leave here without my Love!" Tatewaki cried. "Just fix my nose and let me be off."

"Anesthesia might be nice," the old man warned him.

"A true warrior can take any pain," Kuno told him.

"Then a true warrior is an absolute idiot, but very well," the man replied. Without warning, the old man clamped his left hand on Kuno's forehead. His right hand shot out and slid around Kuno's nose. Then the doctor made a twisting gesture and yanked his right hand away from Tatewaki's face.

"Aaarruugghh!" Tatewaki screamed. His body levitated from the neck down, but the old man held Kuno's head still with remarkable strength.

"That hurt you know!" Tatewaki yelled out.

"Which part of 'Anesthesia might be nice' confused you, Brother Dearest?" Kodachi asked him.

Ukyo took a look around. Something was very off about this place. No one reacted to Kuno's scream. For that matter, no one reacted to the fight earlier. And where the hell had that lady gone who let them in? She wasn't manning the door – a young man was letting people in now (sort of – he seemed to be given folks a hard time too).

The doctor was busy taping a V-brace and bandages to Tatewaki's nose. "I'm going to give you some prescription acetaminophen tablets right now. I want you to pick up some acetaminophen with codeine at the pharmacy for tomorrow. A trip to your own doctor would be a good idea." He finished and stood up after setting two pill packets on the table behind him.

Kodachi looked at the old man. "Thank you very much, doctor. Please let me pay you for your trouble?" she asked politely.

"Oh, no trouble ma'am. And I've already been paid," he told her. Then he turned from the confused trio muttering loudly: "Five hundred points is five hundred points…" A few aisles in, he turned right and became lost in the crowd.

* * *

Ukyo bought a few sodas and passed them out while the trio waited for Tatewaki to pull himself together. Actually, he was in pretty good shape considering the nose. "Well?" Ukyo asked. "Should we bail or have a look around?"

"We must find the villain!" Kuno pronounced.

Kodachi looked at her brother, "You mean villainess, Brother!"

Ukyo cut off the argument, "Look , we all want competing things, but I think we can all agree that we want to stop this date, yes?" The other two nodded. "Fine, let's find the two, split them up and worry about what happens after that later. O.K.?" The two nodded again. "Let's stick together. There's something not quite right about this place. If you are going to go running off, at least tell the other two. O.K.? Again, more nods. "Fine, let's move on."

As they stood up, Tatewaki said, "The purple-haired girl is already searching that way. Maybe we should try another direction?"

"Her name is 'Shampoo', Kuno," Ukyo told him. "It's bad enough she never gets anybody's name right, don't start copying her. Anyway, there's some sense in what you said. Pick a direction and lead on."

Tatewaki shrugged his shoulders and led opposite of the direction Shampoo headed in, back towards the door. The trio stuck together for the most part, fanning out only to cover the parallel aisles and never losing track of each other. The restaurant seemed much larger than the outside would have suggested which puzzled Ukyo. There was also something strange about the clientele – she could never really remember much about them, only that they were not Ranma or Akane. Sometimes it seemed that she was seeing the same twenty or thirty people repeatedly, but the restaurant looked like it held over two hundred people. About halfway around the lower floor, Kuno led them toward the central bar area, but the only ones of note there were Kimiko and her friend chatting animatedly (they were careful not to disturb the couple). Three quarters of the way around, they found a stairway leading up. They decided to finish a sweep of the lower floor, which turned up nothing. Then they headed to the second floor.

The second floor was much the same as the first. There was a central bar area and all the support beams were made of wood. The same wooden booths with high sides and backs were everywhere. "Where's the kitchen?" Ukyo wondered out loud.

"Sorry?" Kodachi asked.

"There was no kitchen on the first floor, and you're not allowed to run a kitchen in the basement due to the health codes. There's no kitchen on this floor either. Putting a kitchen on a higher floor doesn't make any sense if you're serving on the bottom two floors."

Tatewaki pointed at one of the waitresses running over to a hole in the outside wall. "There's a dumb-waiter over there. They seem to be getting the food from there."

Ukyo shook her head. "Very weird," she said.

Kodachi shrugged her shoulders. "We have to take your word for it."

"We are here to stop a travesty. Let's keep moving," Tatewaki said firmly. The two women nodded and followed him.

They had managed to sweep half the floor when Ukyo had to dodge a harried waitress. "I'm very sorry, Ms. Kuonji!" Shampoo told her as she checked to make sure Ukyo was fine. "I'm behind by five orders, and I need to catch up! My apologies!" Shampoo said.

"That's quite all right, Shampoo," Ukyo forgave the waitress. Shampoo ran off while Ukyo and the Kuno siblings resumed their sweep – for about five seconds. The trio stopped cold and then spun around as one.

"That was…" Tatewaki started.

"the Amazon…" Kodachi continued.

"Shampoo!" Ukyo finished.

Sure enough, Shampoo was running around in a restaurant apron, moving food and taking orders. She was also speaking flawless Japanese to the customers. Ukyo shook her had to clear the shock.

"Is she another double?" Tatewaki asked.

"She knew who I was…" Ukyo answered.

"Yes, but she also knew your name," Kodachi countered.

"O.K., admittedly, that part is weird. What do we do?" Ukyo asked.

Tatewaki watched the waitress for a second. "It's not in my nature to leave a companion. We need to see if that's really her."

"I can find out, Brother Dearest." With that, Kodachi snatched Ukyo's huge spatula off the chef's back and leapt on the tall edges of the booths. She danced through the air toward the Amazon and then let out her trademark laugh. With that warning, she swung the battle spatula at Shampoo.

Shampoo immediately dropped her tray and grabbed the spatula. She then twirled 360 degrees and threw Kodachi back the way she came. The warrior then grabbed the spatula properly and tore off after Kodachi. "DIE, RIBBON GIRL!" Shampoo cried.

Kodachi landed behind Kuno and Ukyo. "Yes, that appears to be the Chinese wench," Kodachi told them.

"Aw crap!" Ukyo moaned. She and Kuno tackled Shampoo, forcing the Amazon to pause for a second before Ukyo and Tatewaki were sent flying.

That was all the time Kodachi needed. She addressed Shampoo: "Welcome back, Amazon."

Shampoo came to a screeching halt as her memory restored itself. She doped slap Kodachi lightly. "That was stupid, Kodachi."

Kodachi just shrugged her shoulders. "What works, works."

Ukyo came back out from among the maze of tables. "Kodachi, we need to have a long talk about your methods later!"

"And upping your medicines, Dear Sister!" Kuno didn't quite shout.

"A little later perhaps," Kodachi answered. "In the meantime, our 'companion' has a story for us…"

Shampoo tossed the spatula to Ukyo and ripped the apron off herself. "I don't know what the hell happened! One minute I was searching for Ranma and Akane, and then I bumped into a waitress. I had to grab her tray to keep it from spilling on me, and then help the waitress up. While she rested for a second, I remember passing out the drinks to the table they belonged to so she could have that second. Then I was taking orders, and fetching drinks, and then food…" The purple-haired girl grabbed her head. "Suddenly, I was working here. I knew where everything was, what the cash register codes were, where the restrooms were – everything! Hell, I did enough work to earn 10,000 yen in tips. Arrghhh!" she yelled in frustration.

"Okay…" Ukyo drawled out. "Important safety tip: Don't touch the waitresses' trays."

"Sorcery?" Kuno asked.

"Something like that," Uyko replied. "So, Shampoo, how long have you been able to speak perfect Japanese?"

"What are you talking about, Ukyo? You're speaking Mandarin Chinese – I know that fluently."

"Curiouser and curiouser…" Kodachi threw out.

"More like madder and madder, Sister," Tatewaki amended.

"That too," Kodachi replied.

"I don't know Chinese, Shampoo," Ukyo told her. "And you're using my proper name with the right accents."

Shampoo opened her mouth to respond, and then paused. Finally, she asked: "Are you saying Xian Pu or Shampoo?"

"The second, Shampoo," Ukyo said.

"I'm hearing the Amazon pronunciation. Where the hell are we?"

"Somewhere, we need to move on from," Tatewaki cut in. "Do you want to stay with us this time? Or would you rather make some more tips?" he asked.

"Shut up, Bokken Boy!" Shampoo hissed.

"That I heard," Kodachi said.

"Because she meant it that way," Ukyo said. "Let's find our targets and get the hell out of here. Shampoo, when you 'worked' for the restaurant, did you get a sense of the reservation system and how people are seated in general?"

"The bottom three floors are open seating, except for a few dedicated booths on each floor reserved for special customers like Kimiko and her friend. The fourth floor is all reserved. The next two floors are private dining areas – catered events only with a dedicated waitress or waiter. The next eight floors are all hotel rooms – room service available. The top floor is top secret: need-to-know only."

"That's some recollection you have," Ukyo told her.

Shampoo responded: "The restaurant is run by a very strict discipline. They require their employees to memorize everything."

"Or enchant it into their heads," Kodachi commented.

"O.K.," Ukyo said after a minute of thought. "Ranma and Akane are not on this floor, or the next. They are either on the 4th, the 5th, or the 6th."

"How do you know that?" Tatewaki asked.

"Because I use to be their friend…" Ukyo paused; the truth of that statement hurt – she used to be their friend and now she was not. She sighed and went on. "Regardless of what you three think, Ranma and Akane are both very prudish. There's no way they would be in a hotel room together without being married. They are not married, so they are not in a hotel room."

The other three seem to agree a lot less reluctantly than Ukyo had expected. Maybe because they were also reflecting on Ukyo's 'friend' comment and wondering if Akane and/or Ranma might have once considered they themselves to have been a friend…

* * *

A/N: Please do not write to me that Shampoo shouldn't have made any tips working in a restaurant. I'm aware that the "tipping" customs in the United States and in Japan are very different. There are actually many situations in Japan where tipping could be considered an insult (including many standard restaurants) where for the same situation in the United States *not* leaving a tip is considered an insult. In the situations in Japan where tipping is appropriate, the tip is left in a very discrete and formal manner (depends where you are and on many circumstances). The humor in the situation is that Shampoo was so far gone that (a) she accepted the tips as 'normal', (b) she worked hard enough to earn such a healthy amount of tips in such a short time by US standards, and (c) the fact that she had accepted the tips now embarrassed her (which gave Kuno's comment a little bit more 'zing' than many readers may realize).

And in case I haven't made it obvious enough, our quartet is not exactly in Japan right now….


	8. To Stop a Date (Part III - The Maze)

Chapter 7: To Stop a Date (Part III – The Maze)

The four searchers found the next set of stairs and went up to the third floor. However, there was a drastic change in décor on this level. Where there had been wooden beams and trusses carving the floor into many private spaces, this floor plan was one large open room with round tables of various sizes, about fifty tables spaced rather far apart. There was a large circular bar in the center of the room. All the people at the tables wore extremely fashionable modern clothes. There was a carpet on the floor patterned with variously colored and sized squares all under five centimeters on a side, and the ceiling was plain white with fluorescent light fixtures at regular intervals – the lights seemed to flicker. The ceiling was also twice as high as the previous two floors. There were no doors on any of the walls, and the only apparent way in or out of the room was the staircase they came up.

"O.K., there's no obvious way up from here," Ukyo commented.

"Maybe we should ask at the bar?" Shampoo suggested. She started forward, only to come to a sudden stop. A loud thump sounded, which seemed to amuse the people in the room.

"Are you all right? Tatewaki asked.

"I've walked into a wall," the Amazon told him.

"Excuse me?" he asked again.

Shampoo moved her hands against an invisible flat surface. "There's a glass wall here," she stated.

Kodachi walked over to Shampoo and stretched out her hand as well. She seemed to touch something. The she withdrew her hand and flicked the apparent surface. A clear sharp tone sounded. The gymnast placed her head against the surface and traced it upwards. Then she turned to face the others. "She's right," Kodachi said. "It's glass plate – very good glass plate at that; and very strong. I don't recommend shattering it though – the damage might be a little more widespread than you counted on."

Tatewaki carefully walked in a slightly different direction waving his arms. Very obviously, he hit something and began to map it out. "I've hit a door," he said. "It's open." His hand found a door knob. Very carefully, he closed the glass door, and everybody on the floor vanished but the quartet. He opened the door to have everyone re-appear. "What sorcery is this now?" he asked. He stepped out of the room at looked back at the three inside, and then he closed the door. He vanished with everyone else.

Ukyo walked over to where he vanished. After feeling for the door handle, she opened it to see him reappear. He had his hand cupped to the outside glass wall. "What's going on?" she asked.

Kuno answered her, but the pomposity had vanished from his voice, replaced with something that sounded a bit like wonder: "It's not sorcery. It's like a large video screen, but the resolution is so fine, I cannot make out the pixels."

"Dear Brother, have you gone mad?" Kodachi asked.

"No, Kodachi. When the door closed, you three vanished. I could see the stairs, but not you. It's all an illusion. We are in a maze of glass, but some of the glass is video screen, some of it is polarized, and some of it contains an opaque mask that can be transitioned on and off," he answered her.

"So, it's not magic?" Shampoo asked sounding a little disappointed.

The question seemed to stump Tatewaki. "While I've seen examples of materials like this with Uncle, I've never seen anything so high performance. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

"Which is the same as saying you don't know?" the Amazon quizzed.

Tatewaki shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter," he said, the arrogance returning. "It's just another obstacle between me and my beloved."

A waiter seemed to step out of thin air just beyond Kuno. "May I show you to a table?" he asked.

"Actually," Ukyo cut in, "we are trying to get to the fourth floor."

"The fourth floor?" questioned the waiter.

"Yes, we understand there is a dance floor there," Ukyo responded.

"Well, there is, but you have to have a reservation to go there," answered the waiter.

"We do," Kodachi chimed in. "We are with the Tendo party."

"I see," the waiter responded. Why don't I show you to a table where you can have a drink, while I find out where your party is?"

"That sounds fine," Ukyo answered.

They followed Kuno and the waiter. As they walked, they began to see what Tatewaki was talking about. They were in a maze, and the walls would alternately switch from hiding to revealing the room around them with every turn they made. Other customers winked in and out of view as they went. Also, one had to follow the waiter exactly, or one risked smacking into a wall. Finally, the waiter led them into an alcove with one small bar-height table. They could see the downward stairs, and several other tables behind the maze of glass walls (or video monitors of the tables?). The waiter pulled out the chairs from the table and placed menus on the table. The four took their seats. "I'll check the Tendo party reservation for you," the waiter said.

Once he left, Ukyo said: "We should probably order something to eat too."

"What? Why?" Tatewaki asked.

"Because we will have to either sneak up to the fourth floor or catch Akane and Ranma when they come down here to get by us, Dear Brother," Kodachi told him. "Either way, we need an excuse to stay here."

At Tatewaki's confused look, Shampoo told him: "The waiter will confirm the reservation by checking with Ranma and Akane. That will tip them off that we are here and force a move. We need to be in position." Her Japanese was still perfect. "Most importantly, it will wreck the mood of the date as well. It's hard to feel romantic when you feel trapped."

A short time later, after they had looked through the menu, the waiter returned. "I'm sorry," he addressed the group. "But, the Tendo reservation is only for two people."

Tatewaki was about to launch into a diatribe when his sister kicked him. Ukyo spoke instead, "There's a misunderstanding somewhere. However, can we order food here? And can you take a message to the couple so they know where to meet us later?"

"Of course, ma'am. Yes, to both questions," he answered.

As they placed their order, Ukyo scribed a message: "_Love will not be denied. Our claims will always hold precedence._ _You will never get away and you will never know peace."_ She passed it to Shampoo, who nodded and passed it to Kodachi. The female Kuno's eyebrows raised slightly, but she left the message as is and passed it to her brother.

Tatewaki read it, nodded at Ukyo, and then folded the message and handed it to the waiter. "If you could please see that this arrives at the Tendo table?" There was a 2000 yen note wrapped around the message.

The waiters eyebrows rose, but he only said: "It shall get there, Sir."

In amazingly short order, their food arrived. Ukyo was very suspicious. Food arriving that fast must have been re-heated. But when she tasted the lasagna, it was perfect. Kuno's steak was cooked to perfection as well, and the Swordfish salad Kodachi had also looked very good. Shampoo had a small frown on her face though.

"Is your spaghetti all right, Shampoo?" Ukyo asked.

"It's fine, Ukyo. It's just that I have such a feeling of déjà vu. Since I've never been here before, I don't know why."

* * *

Out behind the building, Mousse rode his bike up to the attendant. The attendant happened to be a very large man who looked suspiciously like the limousine driver from earlier this evening. "Here's another twenty orders of ramen as you asked," Mousse told the man.

"Good," the giant answered handing cash to the Chinese young man. "But we just got a few more volunteers, and room service orders are starting to trickle in. I'm afraid you've got to go back."

"She's going to start to get suspicious you know," Mousse told him. Then the sometime-duck stretched, "and you might have warned me too."

A blond woman laughed behind him. "It's good training, young warrior," she told him. "We may have to switch restaurants though. Tell Cologne you think this is it, but that we've asked you to stay and help clean up." Mousse nodded and took off again.

"We need a disguise for him for the rest of the night, Ciren. He's working hard for us. I don't want to see him come to any trouble," the giant rumbled.

"Mouse is way ahead of you, Olaf. He's already got some of that soap and a mix to darken the lad's skin. I can do something to disguise the face. We can take care of it without bothering Tofu."

"Good. Any word from Daran?"

The woman smiled mischievously. "Things are going very well for our couple…"

* * *

They had about finished their meal when the waiter handed Tatewaki a note. He read it out loud: _"Only those who truly love know that love makes __no__ claims. We have been and will always be beyond you. The only peace we need is in each other arms."_ He crushed the note. He noted the flinty look from the three women then turned to the waiter. "We need to pay the bill." he said.

The waiter nodded and produced the bill. Kuno looked it over and laid down the bill and a 10,000 yen note. He then laid down four more 10,000 yen bills in a separate stack. The waiter's eyes shown with greed as he looked at the second stack. Kuno spoke again, "We need to get to the fourth floor, and we need to go now."

The waiter sighed and looked disappointed. "I don't know the way," he admitted.

Kuno took back one of the bills from the second stack. He looked at the waiter again. "We need to get to the fourth floor, and we need to go now," Kuno repeated.

"Honestly, sir. I do not know the way. I used the dumb-waiter to get your message to the fourth floor. I don't really know the full extent of the maze," the waiter told him. Kuno took back another bill causing the waiter to wince.

"How do you serve customers then?" Ukyo asked him.

"I follow the patterns in the rug either to the bar, the dumb-waiter, the downward stairs, or the bathroom," the man answered. The waiter then spoke quickly as Kuno reached for another bill: "But I use the map to find the customers I'm assigned to."

Kuno's hand paused before he took another bill. "Do you have a copy of this map?" Kuno asked.

"The map is a large model of the maze located at the bar, sir," the waiter answered.

Kuno then reached into his wallet and took out a 5000 yen bill and placed it on the table with the remaining two 10,000 yen bills. He looked at the waiter, "And of course you'd love to give us a tour of this floor and show how you navigate the maze, wouldn't you my good man?"

The waiter hesitated until Kuno began to reach for the stack of bills. "Wait," the man said. "I can tell you how to navigate the maze and find the map. Once you can find the map by yourselves, you can get anywhere on this floor. It's not unusual for repeat customers to figure things out. No one has to know I told you."

Kuno pretended to consider this and then took one of the 10,000 yen bills and stuffed it in the man's shirt pocket, "Show us and I'll give you the other two bills and pay the check as you see it."

The waiter's eyes lit up. "Come with me please!" he said in a hurried voice. The quartet stood up and the man led them outside the alcove to stand in the transparent hallway, positioning himself so an opaque wall hid him from view of the bar. "Look at the grouping of gold squares in the carpet. Ignore the number of squares in a grouping and the size of the grouping. What do you see?"

Shampoo spoke up immediately (still in perfect Japanese): "The gold splotches are at regular intervals." She was about to say more, then stopped. Her eyes widened, and she let out a stream of curses for a full sixty seconds.

"Shampoo!" Ukyo exclaimed. "What's got you so worked up?"

"I should have noticed this immediately. Any type of hunter certainly would have…" the Amazon answered. "There are trail markers in the carpeting." The waiter nodded, and Shampoo continued: "You have to ignore the red, yellow, and blue squares. The trails are marked by the purple, brown, orange, and green squares."

The waiter picked up then: "Purple is for the bar, brown is for the dumb-waiter, orange is for the bathroom, and green is for the downward stairs." Ukyo was scribbling some notes.

"What's maroon?" Kodachi asked.

"Indicates a junction or a turn," Shampoo told her.

The waiter looked pleased. "This is going way faster than I thought it would," he told Shampoo. "The only thing I can add is that the blue squares somehow give a coordinate of where you are, but I've never figured that part out. The map shows the walls clearly – I use the maroon markers to keep from bashing into the glass walls."

"So, when you go to a customer, you memorize a sequence of lefts, rights, and straights," Shampoo told him.

Sheepishly, the waiter held up a small pad of paper. On it was a set of numbers, each with a compass direction and a set of "L", "R", and "S" characters.

Shampoo gave the waiter a small smile and then asked: "And the map is?"

"On the West wall, ma'am," he answered.

"And you don't know where the stairs to the fourth floor are?" she pressed.

"No, ma'am. If I did, I'd be trying for more cash. I will say it's not obvious on the map though," he replied.

Shampoo looked at Tatewaki and nodded. Tatewaki handed the bills over to the waiter and jerked his thumb back to the alcove. The man took the hint and went to tend to the table.

"Purple?" Uyko asked.

* * *

An hour or so later, the four teenagers re-grouped at the map. Kodachi had purchased sodas for the hunters from the bar. "Are we sure the stairs are not on the second floor?" Kuno asked.

"Yes, Brother dear," Kodachi told him. "I paced out the downstairs level. I found the four outside walls."

"So what are we missing?" Ukyo asked.

"Actually, several things," Kodachi said. The others looked at her. "I've taken a home décor class or two, and I have a knack for living spaces. We are not seeing the whole floor here. This map is missing something."

"I walked the outline of the maze…" Shampoo started.

Kodachi shook her head. "We have the full maze, but the downstairs is larger than this floor."

"So where is the missing piece?" Ukyo asked.

Kodachi leaned over the maze model and circled her hand just beyond the far wall of the maze. "Here," she stated.

"Over by the bathrooms," Tatewaki noted. "So the stairs are hidden there." He looked at Shampoo. "Are you sure Akane and Ranma didn't pass down the stairs to the second floor?"

The Amazon nodded. "They aren't the only ones who can lay traps. My spirit trap cannot hurt them, but it would have told me if they passed that way."

"Then my Beloved is still upstairs…" he murmured quietly to himself. Louder, he said: "All right, let us look around the bathrooms."

The bartender watched as they walked away, chuckling to himself. Silently, the teenagers' waiter appeared next to him. "We are on bonus time," the waiter said.

"Told you we didn't need to go crazy with the magic," the bartender told him. "Give a human a puzzle, and he'll either lose himself in it or give up. Either way, we win."

* * *

The teenagers stood outside the bathrooms looking at the two doors.

"Looks normal enough to me," Takewaki commented.

"Well, I need to use the facilities," Ukyo commented. "So, please excuse me," she said as she opened the proper door.

As Ukyo tended to matters, she heard several people come in and then go immediately out again. "Odd," she thought to herself. "There's more than enough stalls here that they didn't have to go elsewhere." She finished up and washed her hands, just as Shampoo came in.

The Amazon looked around the empty bathroom. "Where are the four women who came in here?" she asked.

"They turned around and went out immediately," Ukyo answered, then paused. "Didn't they?" she asked.

Shampoo's eyes widened and then she grinned. "No. So there's another way out of this bathroom."

"Then it's by the door, because they didn't come in far to the bathroom," Ukyo added.

"Fine. You look. I have matters to attend to, and then I'll help," Shampoo said.

Ukyo went outside. "Kodachi!" she called out.

"Yes, Ukyo?" Kodachi responded.

"Please come help us search! It's in the bathroom," Ukyo requested.

As the female Kuno went inside, Tatewaki decided to go into the Men's bathroom, reasoning that they wouldn't have the entrance in only one bathroom. As he studied the inside, he couldn't find anything obvious. He did hear the women searching their bathroom though – a little louder than they should have sounded. "It's definitely by the door," he thought. He searched for about fifteen minutes and stopped. "There is something wrong here," he said to himself, "Think about the tricks they pulled in the maze." He closed his eyes and began to search the doorway alcove with his hands. "There!" he said finally. He opened his eyes. The door had two pull-bars on it – one on each side of the door, but the second was glass and camouflaged to blend into the tile wall behind it. He pulled on that bar (on the far side of the door) and a section of the wall quietly opened to reveal the stairs. He thought about leaving the ladies behind so he could deal with Saotome freely, but decided it wouldn't be proper to abandon them. Besides, Kodachi would never let him be if he left her behind, and he needed to sleep sometime. He watched the stairs door close and then went back outside the bathroom.

* * *

A/N:

In case I wasn't obvious enough, all the food served is ramen noodles (from the Cat Cafe) enchanted to seem like something else. For that matter, all the sodas and alcohol are enchanted water - Shampoo cost one of the Kitsunes some points because she detected something odd, but the fox still kept some points because she didn't figure it out. The Kitsunes are running a great margin on their food service though…

In the next chapter, we find out why Gosunkugi was so interested in Ranma and Akane's date….


	9. To Stop a Date (Part IV - The Dead Girl)

Chapter 8: To Stop a Date (Part IV – The Dead Girl)

Five minutes later, the four teens were climbing the well lit stairs. "We are going up two stories," Ukyo noted.

"Which means we have to drop down a story – even the stairs are part of the maze," Kodachi complained.

"All this misdirection and secrecy just to have a liaison," Shampoo wondered out loud. "The sex better be worth it."

The other three were about to defend the objects of their affection, but thought better of it. They all felt that the conversation would head somewhere that would cast themselves in a bad light – such as the fact that people might go to all this trouble if they just wanted a little privacy.

At the top of the stairs, there was a short platform and a door that opened outward. As they walked into the room, they were greeted with the sight of a small reception area containing a manned Concierge desk, a downward staircase and two halls leading to the rest of the floor. The most stunning thing in the room was the two people manning the desk though.

"Gosunkugi! What are you doing here?" Tatewaki burst out.

"Hello Kuno. I'm keeping a friend company this evening," the odd young man said. He indicated the young woman next to him. "This is Kogane Musashi," he introduced.

"You don't have any friends. And that's Upperclassman Kuno to you," Kuno corrected arrogantly.

The young woman fixed Kuno with a glare that sent a shiver down his spine. The pupil and iris of her eyes were completely grey. Kogane spoke: "You are no longer an upperclassman, Takewaki Kuno. You are a freshman student and a fool. Hikaru has more friends than you."

Kuno looked at the girl. "I know you…" he said. "You're the ghost from Toramasa's store. You're just a shade!" he said contemptuously.

The ghost's eyes hardened and Tatewaki felt cold enough that his teeth started chattering. Ice formed on his shoulders. "I am no longer bound to the High School. I have walked the floor of Kami-Sama's Throne Room. You do not impress me, Tatewaki Kuno," Kogane said crossly. "You persecute those you claim to love, and ignore the few who do love you, dismissing them as mere servants."

Tatewaki's teeth chattering prevented him from saying anything. Kodachi kept her mouth shut; she could feel another of those personal lessons lurking within this specter and had no wish to invoke it. Shampoo knew better than to engage a shade who could affect the living like this – she had enough of it with Maomolin. Ukyo was the only one who had the courage (or the foolhardiness) to speak. "Gosunkugi!" she chastised. "You shouldn't summon the Dead like this! It's very disrespectful!"

Kogane smiled at Ukyo while Hikaru chuckled. "You misunderstand, Ukyo," Gosunkugi told her shyly. "As much as I wish I could summon her, I didn't summon Kogane. She summoned me."

"I visited him in his dreams," Kogane explained. "I told him that if he wanted to have a real experience with magic, he should follow the Tendo limousine. Once he entered this house, he became mine until midnight," the ghost said with a slight smile looking slyly at Gosunkugi. Noting Ukyo's shock and horror, Kogane continued: "He knows I won't hurt him, Ms. Kuonji. The only thing he'll take away from this experience is a happy memory – hopefully."

Gosunkugi looked over at Kogane. "So far, so good…" he said bashfully. The smile grew on the specter.

"Why are you here?" Ukyo asked the ghost.

"I traded the owner of this hotel five hours of work in exchange for the power to summon Hikaru. The owner asked me to man this Concierge desk. Is there something I can help you with?"

Shampoo spoke up then: "We are looking for the Tendo party. Last we heard, they were on the dance floor downstairs."

At that moment, Tatewaki fell over. Kogane sighed: "I need to learn not to overdo that." She raised her hand and color began to return to Kuno's face. Then she addressed the Amazon: "The fourth floor Tendo party is no longer downstairs. They have completed dinner and dancing and gone upstairs for the night with dessert in hand."

"WHAT!" Tatewaki shouted sitting up immediately. The three women went into shock.

"There's no need to shout, Mr. Kuno," the ghost admonished him. "I may be dead, but my hearing is quite good. You obviously heard what I said." Kuno got up to stand next to the other three.

"Ranma wouldn't do that!" Ukyo yelled.

"I do not tell people what others would do or would not do," the ghost said reasonably. "You asked me a question and I answered it honestly as I am compelled to do. The Tendo party has retired for the night. I do not expect them to pass this way again while I am here."

"Please, where are they?" Kodachi asked in an anguished voice.

"It would be improper to tell you that," Kogane said.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter," Kodachi replied thinking fast. "You are compelled to tell the truth. That's one of the prices you paid to summon the boy."

"He's older than you, Ms. Kuno," Kogane admonished her. "But yes, if you ask a question I must speak the truth. The Tendo party is on the top floor in a private room."

"Is there an engagement ring on the hussy's hand?" Kodachi begged.

"She's not a …" Tatewaki Kuno started before Shampoo elbowed him in the gut.

"Your brother is right, the young lady in question is not a 'hussy', and, 'no', the ring is not on her finger yet. It's still in the young man's pocket."

"The rumors are true," Ukyo gasped.

"We have to get that ring!" Shampoo shouted.

Kogane looked at them and sighed, but said nothing else.

"How do we get there?" Tatewaki asked after shaking off Shampoo's strike.

"The stairs to the next floor are at the back of this one. When you get to the next floor, you must go to the opposite side to get to the next stairs." Kogane told him.

"We have to crisscross each floor?" Ukyo asked in disbelief.

"All the way to the top floor," Kogane confirmed.

"That's impossible!" Ukyo burst out. "There's no fire inspector in the city that would allow a floor plan like that!"

Kogane just shrugged her shoulders. "That's the way things are," she stated.

Kodachi looked at the specter. "Yes, but why?"

Kogane smiled. "I'm not suppose to answer that."

"Yes," Kodachi agreed. "But you're the Concierge. You are suppose to answer guests' questions, and we have bought and paid for food here. We are guests."

"Yes, this is true," Kogane admitted after some thought.

"So, why are the stairs spaced like that?" Kodachi pressed.

"Because each floor is a trap," Kogane stated. "You were warned that the couple would be ready for you and they are. They have a date where the Management is very protective of their clientele. You cannot run a love-motel unless you are prepared to deal with angry spouses or parents. It has already taken you over three and half hours to get to the fifth floor. The Tendo party is on the fifteenth floor. In a few hours, the date will be over and the traps will have fulfilled their purposes."

"There must be a way around them," Shampoo insisted.

"Yes, there is," Kogane admitted. "You can go home and not bother the couple."

"That's not going to happen," Ukyo stated.

Kogane shrugged her shoulders. "Is there any other questions I can answer for you?"

"Yes, how do we deactivate the traps?" Kodachi asked.

"That I do not know," Kogane told them.

"Ah, but can you find out?" Tatewaki asked. "As Concierge it would be your duty to find out."

The ghost thought some more about that. "Well, I suppose I could go find the Head of Maintenance and see if he knew. That might take a bit though," she said. "Still, I suppose a good Concierge would do that. If you wait over there, I'll see if I can find him."

"That would be great. Please don't come back without him," Tatewaki said.

She looked at her friend. "Come along, Hikaru," we need to go downstairs. Gosunkugi followed Kogane down the stairs the quartet just came up.

After the door had closed, Tatewaki bragged, "See how easy it is to get the little people to work for you."

* * *

Gosunkugi followed Kogane all the way to the first floor. She led the way over to a door labeled "Maintenance" and knocked twice. After knocking a few more times, one of the waitresses stopped her. "Kogane, honey. You know we told you Carl was on vacation today."

"Oh, that's right," Kogane said. "When will he be back?"

"Tomorrow morning, honey."

"I see," Kogane replied. "Well, I guess it will have to wait until he gets back."

The waitress nodded and moved on.

"What do we do now?" Gosunkugi asked.

"Well, Kuno said not to return without the Head of Maintenance, and the man will not be back until tomorrow, and I'm suppose to obey the customers," Kogane rattled off as she shoved Hikaru into an empty booth. "So, I guess I have the night off," she finished sliding up to him.

"Hey," Gosunkugi called out in surprise. "Your eyes just turned brown and you have pupils now."

"That means I was right. So," she said slyly, "What do you know about kissing? I've heard some interesting things…"

She then leaned over and kissed him. Now all she needed was a way to keep him from sliding under the table in shock…

* * *

Half an hour later, Tatewaki and the three young women were still waiting for the ghost to return. "I think we've been had," Shampoo stated.

Kodachi dope-slapped her brother. "What was that about getting the little people to do work for you, brother?" Tatewaki just kept his mouth shut.

"So, what do we do now?" Ukyo asked. "We have ten floors of mazes and booby-traps to get through. Meanwhile, Ranma's up there with an engagement ring about to place it on Akane's finger."

Shampoo stood up. "That's not happening. If guile won't work, then force will have to do."

"So you are going to just charge blindly up there, yelling 'Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead?'" Ukyo asked.

"You got a better idea?" Shampoo challenged.

"No," Ukyo replied taking her giant spatula off her back.

The Kunos stood up as well. Kodachi pulled out a gymnastics ribbon and unrolled it. Tatewaki walked over to a tall brass floor lamp and unplugged it. He removed the shade and bulb, and then yanked out the cord. It had a good weight to it. Tatewaki looked down one of the empty lighted hallways. "So be it," he said grimly.

* * *

Sometime later, the quartet lay half-drowned in the dumpster outside the back of the restaurant. Tatewaki had a poster of Ranko glued to his back and seemed to have bits and pieces of his sister's ribbon wrapped about him. His hair was tied in a very short pig-tail. He was also wearing a red Chinese shirt and pants. Shampoo was a cat, but her fur had been given a short cut (it was almost a buzz cut – she hoped her hair was intact in her other form). She was also clad in boxer shorts. Her clothes were nearby, but they looked like a multi-colored dye pack had exploded all over them. Ukyo was covered in glue and feathers with a thong swimsuit on (fortunately, this was over her normal clothes). Kodachi's hair had been cut to resemble Akane's. She was also wearing a "Little Bo Peep" costume, covered head-to-foot in bits and pieces of beer-soaked melon.

"What was with the parrot?" Ukyo asked.

"The one that swore in English or the one that threw knives?" Tatewaki moaned.

"The latter, I think," she answered.

"I want to know where the white water rapids came from," Kodachi coughed.

"I think they were from the giant beer vat that was next to the exploding mayonnaise jars. I'm pretty sure that's what the foam was," Tatewaki answered.

"The rubber rafts shaped like condoms were a nice touch. I felt slimy climbing into them," Ukyo commented.

"At least you got one of the rafts – I had to settle for the blow-up sex doll," Tatewaki told her.

"You got to love that vending machine on the eight floor though – high speed service at your finger tips. It threw cans of tuna at high enough speeds to puncture the studs in the wall," Kodachi tossed out.

"I just wanted some Pocky," Tatewaki said.

"At least we got some warning when the balloons filled with glue started falling," Ukyo said. "I felt sorry for that poor guy stuck on the ceiling."

Someone banged on the side of the dumpster. "Did someone order four cups of tea, a pot of hot water, and one large wool fire blanket?" a female voice called out.

Ukyo took a good look at her compatriots, "Yeah, that's us. Can we also order a hose, some soap, four towels, and four changes of non-descript clothing."

Two hands reached up holding a tray with four large cups of tea and a kettle. Ukyo took it, and Kodachi caught the fire blanket. "Got it! One jailbreak special coming up!" the voice answered. "Oh, who's paying for all the beer?"

"Bill me!" Tatewaki yelled back sarcastically. If was a lot politer than what he wanted to say…

Ukyo handed the tray to Tatewaki and helped Kodachi with the fire blanket. Together, they managed to cover Shampoo and Ukyo poured hot water on the cat. Shampoo pulled the blanket about her and took a cup of tea from Kuno. "The scary part is the number of triggers we avoided. I do think the Jacuzzi was the final insult to injury though," Shampoo commented. "Shaped like a giant toilet that flushed us out here."

"How did you know that the hot water would change Shampoo back?" Tatewaki asked Ukyo.

Ukyo really did not feel like talking about Jusenkyo right now. Besides, if Kuno hadn't picked up on the concept after two years, Ukyo didn't think anything she would say in the next fifteen minutes would change it. She just shrugged and said "I figured they gave us the hot water for a reason." Shampoo just rolled her eyes.

They all lay there for a few minutes trying to get their bearings. Eventually, the waitress came back. The woman placed a ladder against the dumpster and popped her head over the rim. "Come on, I have your change of clothes and some towels. Oh, I need a credit card. The cost is 11900 yen."

Kuno handled over his credit card. "That's all?" he asked.

"We use cheap beer in the trap," the woman said.

Ukyo made a face. "Tasted like it," she said.

The waitress helped them all get out, taking time to make sure Shampoo stayed wrapped in the blanket. Soon, they were all on the ground. "There's a small bath house out back. You can get cleaned up there," the blond waitress said. She was a tall woman with a very athletic build. She spoke Japanese with a European accent. "I'm afraid the changes of clothes are hospital intern uniforms. We can pick them up cheap using the existing supply networks. Besides, it's not like our clients really want to remember the experience."

"Clients? This happens often?" Ukyo asked.

"Of course it does. You didn't think the couple you were chasing after was our sole concern now, do you?" the blond woman asked as she led them towards the back of the property. "Even now, there are about a dozen people sleeping off the 'poison' darts on the fifth floor. They were after different people I can assure you. How did you avoid the darts by the way?"

"We are martial artists," Shampoo told her.

"Hmph…" the waitress said. "I should have figured that out."

"Wait a minute," Kodachi said. "Every floor is booby-trapped? Then how do the customers get to their rooms?"

"Oh, they have special key cards that they give to the Concierge, who can disable the traps with the card. Usually, you cannot even get into the fifth floor hallway without the Concierge's help." The waitress turned around and tapped Kodachi on the forehead. "You managed to send the Concierge off on a task that cannot be completed until sunrise, which was clever, but now there was no one to disable the traps for the other customers. We had to set up a new Concierge, so the customers can get to their rooms. So you'll have to figure a new way to get rid of the Concierge again. You can't use the same trick. You'll just be told that a Concierge is already attending to the task."

"You're expecting us to try again?" Ukyo asked.

"Many of our clients do," the waitress responded. "They can't seem to get it into their heads that they would be better off without the people they are chasing. The darts are loaded and waiting, and the beer trap was good to go ten minutes ago." She handed Kuno a receipt. "Just show this to the doorman. He or she will let you in without the customary fight."

"Thank you very much," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, don't blame me. This girl you're so hot after is just not into you. She's into someone else – enough so that she has gone through a lot of effort to ditch you."

"She's under a spell," Tatewaki insisted.

"Then it was broken as soon as she crossed the threshold. While we believe in letting people have their fun, rape does *not* happen here, and we have ways of dealing with rapists." With that, the woman handed them their clothes and walked away.

Shampoo was not happy with the look the waitress threw her. She never forced herself on Ranma, did she? All right, she was a tad aggressive in kissing him, but he liked it didn't he? He just never returned her affection because he was betrothed to Tendo. And withholding Akane's cure from him at Jusendo was just a matter of getting him to admit his feelings for her, wasn't it?

Ukyo thoughts were lighter, but she suddenly felt uncomfortable about the incident when Ranma had that magic bandage stuck on his nose. But, after all, she didn't place the bandage on him; she just tried to make use of its effects. That wasn't rape, right? The Kuno siblings were not happy with the waitress's look either, and were suffering from similar thoughts as they all walked into the bath house…

* * *

Ciren walked away from the teenagers and her lips curled into a snarl. She didn't like any of them and prayed they would try again. "Maybe I should ask them to shut off some of the gentler traps," she thought. "The wild dogs on the thirteenth floor need more exercise."

Mouse watched her approach warily as he was loading the last of the night's orders onto the dumb-waiter. Ciren had an extremely nasty temper when roused, and she was still upset at having been excluded from the battle at Ryugenzawa, even though the Council had ordered it. Fox had tried to explain Yamata no Yarochi's appetites several times, only to have the argument degenerate into "So, you think I can't take care of myself either?" Tofu got tired of dodging arrows after a while and had given up. Mouse had even worse luck – maybe he should just adopt Olaf's clueless act and let it go too.

"Hey Mouse," Ciren called. "Where's the lad gone?"

"I sent him to Tofu's, Ciren", Mouse answered. "I wanted him safely away before all the dominoes fell."

"Damn, I wanted to beat some sense into him. I just met the girl he's head over heels for. He can do better – a lot better," she snorted.

"Leave him be. He gets punished enough as it is. Sooner or later, he'll wake up. We all have to grow up in our own time," Mouse scolded her.

Ciren looked at the stern expression on the little man's beardless face. Despite his 130 cm height, Mouse was the most solid person among them, with the possible exception of Fox. She sighed. "I don't know if he's got that sort of time. I don't like the look of her. He's got a rough time ahead of him if he doesn't drop her soon," she told him.

"That's his business, not ours, Ciren," Mouse reminded her.

She dropped her head and sighed again. Suddenly, she looked up sharply and asked: "What do you mean 'before all the dominoes fall'?"

"I mean, it's time for the final act. The real Geppetto's just closed. The couple has gone for a romantic moon-lit stroll." He glanced up at the full moon above them. "How apropos," he added.

"With three chaperons in tow, no doubt," Ciren laughed.

Mouse just shrugged, "What they don't know in this case, will not hurt them – or restrain them. Either way, you can ditch the apron and grab your bow again. Kasumi's already in position with her staff. I know Olaf's trying to hurry up, so he can grab his war hammer."

"Oh, and like you don't feel naked without half a dozen knives on your person? You can't wait to be armed again either," she said with a laugh.

"What makes you think, I'm unarmed now? That's the advantage of knives over a sword…" he answered her.

* * *

A/N: As Mouse said, next week is the Final Act, when we reveal who or what is actually in the top room of the tower waiting for our heros(?). Nabiki is taking bets, but I really don't recommend accepting her odds...


	10. To Stop a Date (Part V - The Final Act)

Chapter 9: To Stop a Date (Part V – The Closing Act)

The three young women left the bath house to find Tatewaki staring at the back of the love-hotel. All four were now dressed in hospital scrubs. "What are you so enthralled with, Brother Dearest?" Kodachi asked.

"I just found the answer to Ms. Kuonji's question," he answered.

"Which question was that, Kuno?" Ukyo asked.

"The one about the Fire Inspector. Look!" he commanded.

They all saw it in the moonlight. There was a fire escape that started at the third floor and ran all the way to the top of the building. Shampoo began cursing again. Kodachi spoke first, "We should have scouted the building first!"

"Oh, knock it off," Ukyo told them both. "Unless we went in, we never would have known where Ranma and Akane were. But, now we do and we can skip all the traps on the lower floors."

"We still have to be careful though," Kuno cautioned them. "And we need to climb to the fire escape."

"No, we don't," Shampoo told him. With that, she tore off towards the building. She pounced at a spot a few meters in front of the building and then shot halfway up the wall toward the fire escape. She ricocheted off the wall and caught onto the bottom of the fire escape. In five seconds, she was on the bottom platform and had lowered the long escape ladder to her cohorts.

"Hmph…We still need to be careful," Tatewaki said grumpily.

Ukyo gave him a dope-slap. "Yes, but you can still be grateful."

Very slowly, the quartet snuck up the fire escape. They tested each step, and spaced themselves so that not everyone would be caught in a trap. Shampoo led with the Kuno siblings behind her. Ukyo brought up the rear. It was just past 11:45PM when they finally stood outside the window on the fifteen story that let out onto the fire escape. Kodachi disabled an alarm and Shampoo then quietly raised the window.

They climb into a hallway and slowly made their way into the main room. There was a big screen TV and a game console against one wall. In the middle of the room were some cushions that had been pulled off the couch to give the players some comfort. There were also two empty dessert plates and an empty bottle of wine as well.

"See," Tatewaki proclaimed in a whisper. "The dog has drugged the virtuous one!"

"Or the bitch did, Brother!" Kodachi hissed.

Ukyo and Shampoo did not say a word though – they just looked at each other. The game console was correct, but the alcohol was wrong and they both knew it. This was the final trap. Unfortunately, they were at a loss of what to do. There were no answers going back, and probably no answers going forward. They needed to do something unexpected, but they didn't know what it was either.

"O.K.," Ukyo whispered. "You two need to stop right now." Surprisingly enough, this actually worked as both siblings stopped bickering. Ukyo continued: "We are in trouble, we need to leave here ri…"

She was cut off by a loud "OH MY!" from the back of the apartment. There was no mistaking the tones of that yell and it sounded a lot like Akane.

Like a shot, Tatewaki ran toward the back of the apartment screaming "I will save you, my Fierce Tigress!"

Kodachi was on his tail yelling "Don't you dare hurt my Ranma-sama!"

The chef and the Amazon just stood where they were. The trap was unfolding and they felt like animals caught in the headlights of a car. They heard Kuno splinter the bedroom door. A woman screamed in surprise who was not Akane. The tones were off – besides, a scream like that from Akane would have been followed by the sound of flesh impacting flesh. The two women closed their eyes in horror and embarrassment, and then opened them wide in surprise as a male voice shouted out: "KUNO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" *This* yell was accompanied by flesh impacting flesh (and impacting glass, and impacting plaster, and impacting timbers).

The two women ran from the main room to the bedroom the voices came from. It was easy to find because Tatewaki had been punched halfway through the wall near the door. The two could also hear Kodachi trying to stammer out an apology. Shampoo got to the door and froze in shock. As Ukyo got there, she could see why – Ryoga was standing on a large futon dressed only in boxer shorts and he was pissed. He was standing in front of a young woman who was doing her best to cover her assets with a comforter.

"R-Ryoga?" Ukyo stammered out. "What are you doing here?"

Ryoga looked on with disbelief at the two women in the doorway. "What am I doing here?" He started growling then.

"What am I doing HERE? What do you think I'm doing here! What do a boyfriend and girlfriend usually do at a love-hotel?!"

"But Akane is your girlfriend!" Shampoo said in shock.

"Since when?" he yelled back. "Akane has never been my girlfriend! I'll admit I tried once upon a time, but she's in love with Ranma! I'm sure you remember him!" he said sarcastically. "You use to chase him yourselves. I haven't dated Akane since I met Akari! And Akari has been my Steady since the beginning of the year and then some!"

"A-Akari?..." Ukyo stuttered.

The young woman wrapped in the comforter seemed to regain her composure. "Yeah, that would be me. Akari Unryu. Ryoga, have you been keeping other girlfriends?" Her voice was rising sharply.

"WHAT?" Ryoga yelped in surprise. The three other women blushed furiously. Ryoga caught his tone and yanked it down several notches. "No, I swore to you that I had cleaned up my act and made my decisions, and I have!" He pointed at each of the women in turn. "That one is Kodachi Kuno. That one is the Amazon Shampoo. That one is Ukyo Kuonji."

"I see," Akari said in frosty tones. "Your brother's former fiancées. I'm sorry, but I thought they might have learned some class in the last four months. Or at least some manners!" she snapped.

"Ranma is your brother?" Shampoo asked hesitatingly.

"Yes, he's my foster brother! He and I have the same foster father who has been looking after us for nearly four years together. Each of us found out about the other recently. Ranma's also my Spirit Brother – we are bound by shared trials and tribulations."

Ukyo's mind was stumbling over something else. "Former fiancées?"

Ryoga looked at her in complete disbelief. "Please tell me you are not still carrying a torch for him?" he pleaded. "He hasn't had a civil word for any of you since he came back from China. Since Akane died in his arms and returned to him, he hasn't left her side except in the direst emergencies."

"Akane died?" Ukyo said in shock.

Ryoga looked at Shampoo in disgust. "You haven't even had the decency to tell your cohorts the truth?" He looked back at Ukyo. "Yes, your one-time friend died. No breathing, no heartbeat, no aura. She came back because Ranma begged her to. Of course, she may have felt an obligation to him outside of love – Ranma died and came back for her too!"

"What?" Shampoo whispered.

"Do you remember, Shampoo?" Ryoga hissed. "Do you remember when Ranma hit himself with the Gekkaja at Jusendo? Well, he didn't make it – it was more than any human could take. Saffron's blast thawed a dead body. Ranma came back though – he came back to save Akane. Not for you, not for Ukyo, not for Kodachi. He came back for Akane."

"Ryoga!" Akari gasped. "You never mentioned that!"

"That's because I didn't know until recently. Every now and then I get one of Ranma's dreams – especially the deep ones – the ones he hides from himself. I imagine he gets one of mine too. He doesn't want to remember his death because he doesn't want anything that might affect his will to survive. He thinks if you are sure about the Afterlife, you won't fight as hard to live, so he's happy not to have a strong memory of his death."

"You're lying!" Kodachi shouted in horror.

"No, I'm not." When Ryoga spoke, he sounded like the Voice of Doom.

Shampoo shook her head slowly. "No, Ranma loves me, not Akane."

Ryoga snarled: "He detests you, Shampoo. Only his kind heart has stopped him from telling you how much he dislikes you."

Shampoo leapt at him screaming "YOU LIE!"

For the second time today, Shampoo found herself held by the throat. Everyone stared at astonishment at Ryoga. He was lit with a bright glow, but it wasn't green. It was a brilliant blue that even Akari could see. Kuno had slid out of the wall and froze at the Battle God before him. "Recognize it, Shampoo?" Ryoga spoke softly, but they felt his voice in their bones. "It's the Cat Fist. Whenever Ranma enters the Cat Fist, some of the power flows to me. For one well known reason or another, I'm very good at holding a charge. Well, Ranma entered the Cat Fist briefly this evening, and it wasn't due to fear, or anger, or grief. He kissed Akane for the first time tonight, and for the first time ever, my brother's shattered soul was at peace. I *felt* the boy, the girl, and the cat join together. I *felt* their triumph…" Ryoga voice dropped down to a hiss as he continued: "And I will never let you take that away from him. Ever." He swept the room with his eyes. "And that goes for anyone else." With that he released her, the gesture throwing her five meters away. He raised his eyes to the ceiling and spoke commandingly, "Concierge!"

Kogane appeared. Her eyes were no longer grey, but brown with sharp pupils. "Yes, sir."

Her appearance took Ryoga aback a little. "I thought you were off for the rest of the night?"

"I'm just helping out for a few minutes while Hikaru's in the restroom," she told him.

"Fine. Could you please show these pests out? It's time for them to move along." Ryoga looked sharply at Ukyo, "and for them to move on, too."

"You lied to us!" Kodachi spat out.

Kogane eyes hardened, and a chill entered the room. "I am under a Binding not to lie, so I cannot lie, at least for a few more minutes," she said glancing at a clock in the room. "That's part of the price I paid to summon Hikaru. Do not blame me if you never asked the right questions. You asked about the Tendo reservation. Well, Kasumi Tendo booked the reservation for these two, and made it in her name to hide Ryoga's and Akari's identity. Had you asked me specifically about Ranma and Akane, I would have told you that they were not here."

"But we heard the rumor that a couple associated with the Tendo Dojo was…" Ukyo voice trailed off as a number of pieces suddenly snapped into place.

Akari answered her while gathering more sheets about herself: "If you choose to believe in rumors, that's your problem. However, I am associated with the Tendo Dojo. Kasumi is teaching me Tai Chi. She's registered as an instructor these days with her Sensei's blessing. And Ryoga is officially studying there as well."

"I'm listed as Soun Tendo's student. Really, it just gives Ranma and myself and excuse to pound on each other and not worry about insurance liability issues. Although, I have picked up a few things from Ranma, Mr. Tendo, Mr. Saotome, and even Happosai," Ryoga added.

"But where are Ranma and Akane?" Shampoo asked the ghost after getting up from the floor and coming back into the room. She averted her eyes from Ryoga still standing on the futon to keep control of her temper.

"They are currently sitting on a bench and kissing in the shadows of a park in Akasaka," the ghost told them. "By the time you could get there, they will have moved on, and they will leave no trail for you to follow. It's over – their date has been a success."

Tatewaki sprang up from his position on the floor. "NO!" he yelled. "It's not over! I will be waiting for them at the dojo! I will defeat Saotome and free Akane Tendo no matter what you say foul demon!" The last was directed at Ryoga. With that, Tatewaki fled back to the fire escape.

Kogane held up her hand to forestall Ryoga from chasing Kuno down. "It's not necessary, Ryoga. Ranma and Akane are not going back to the dojo tonight. They have been forewarned that Genma and Nodoka are lying in wait for them. Tatewaki will not see them. In fact, he will not see them for quite some time."

"But where will they go?" Kodachi yelled. "Answer me, Spirit!"

"I do not know," Kogane shrugged. "My time as an Oracle is drawing to a close, and the decision has not been made yet. Soon it will be impossible for me to know. I cannot even tell you what is likely. The only thing I can say for certain is that there are a lot of hotels in and around the park, some standard, some not. Ranma has enough cash on him to get the best of them, and I'm sure he wants to impress Akane as much as possible."

"I'll find them!" Shampoo yelled. "Ranma will never escape me!" She tore off toward the fire escape.

"He's mine, Bimbo!" Ukyo screamed tearing after her. Kodachi also ran to the door, and was gone without a word.

Ryoga dropped the grim look and let the glow extinguish. Akari looked at her boyfriend and smiled. Kogane allowed the room to heat up so Akari could drop the blankets. As Akari rose from the futon, it could be seen that she was wearing a strapless one-piece bathing suit. Ryoga held up his hand to her and stood listening to the pests clambering down the fire escape. He heard the thumps as each of the pests jumped from the last level to the ground and were then lost to the night. He looked to Kogane who nodded. "They're gone," Kogane said quietly.

Ryoga dropped his hand and smiled at Akari. She immediately leaped into his arms kissing him. "Oh honey! You were magnificent!" she shouted. There was a small cheer and muffled clapping in the background approaching the room.

"There wasn't much acting for me to do," Ryoga replied.

"Which was why you were so convincing, lad!" a tall giant of a man said stepping into the room. He was joined by a much shorter man dressed all in black and a woman dressed in hunting leathers holding a bow. Both the newcomers seemed satisfied.

Then Kasumi appeared in the doorway wearing the Chaos Gi and holding a bow staff. "Not bad, not bad at all – that should move you a few rungs down on Akane's Hit List," Kasumi told him.

"Hah! That little 'OH MY!' noise out of you should move him down a rung or two as well. What were you thinking, Kasumi? We almost died of embarrassment!" Akari scolded.

Kasumi blushed. "Sorry, but we almost lost them. One of the Kitsunes had added an empty wine bottle. It set off red flags in Shampoo's and Ukyo's minds. They know that Akane and Ranma would never drink. I had to get at least one of them to stop thinking so the big revelation could happen."

"Of course, it would be Kuno who stopped thinking – he barely uses his brain anyway," Ryoga remarked.

A large Kitsune, taller than Kasumi, appeared in the room. "Sorry, but you didn't warn us about the no liquor policy."

"It worked out," Kasumi said. "Don't worry about it."

"So, Kitsune, have I won our bet?" Kogane asked him.

"You tell me, little ghost. How did you win?" the Kitsune asked.

"The bet was that I could cause more chaos than all the Kitsunes in this building before midnight," Kogane told him. As she spoke, the clock began chiming.

"So, what chaos did you cause?" the Kitsune challenged.

"I just set three lunatics on the unsuspecting district of Akasaka," she answered. "They're on their way to terrorize every hotel in the area. Not only that, they will tear apart every love-hotel between Akasaka and Nerima. All the mischief your people have caused is confined to this nowhere location and most of it will disappear shortly. There will be some lingering effects, but nothing too severe – the subjects will quickly convince themselves it was a dream. People will be traumatized for days by my lunatics."

"Did you really do that, or did they do that themselves?" the Kitsune said with raised eyebrows.

"I gave them the location where Akane and Ranma were. I said that Akane and Ranma would not return to the dojo knowing Genma and Nodoka were waiting. I said there were many hotels in the area, and I forestalled any other questions by making use of the paradox."

"Which was?" the fox prompted.

"If I mentioned any place the target couple would be, Kasumi would act to make sure they were not there. Had I mentioned any place they couldn't be, Kasumi would immediately place them there. It stymied the power of the Oracle."

"So, you really think you won our bet?" the Kitsune asked.

Kogane smiled impishly at the Kitsune, and then she went over and kissed his cheek. "Yes, because you knew you made a sucker bet. By Kitsune Law, any chaos from the Test must be confined and limited, but I'm not part of the Test. We made our arrangement before the Test started. I'm not bound by the confines of the Test. All you wanted from me was to prove that I could be clever."

The Kitsune smiled at her. "No, I wanted much more from you, and I got it. Otherwise, the four pests would dismiss this all as a dream and quickly forget everything. Since you are not part of the Test, they will remember it. It may not change anything, but they will remember it, and I believe in giving people every possible chance." Kogane's eyes widened as she realized the Kitsune had played her as well. The creature uncrossed his arms and held out his hand. In it was a small white hourglass. "Take it with my blessing. But hurry; you have unfinished business and very little time to get it done in." Kogane nodded and took the hourglass, then she vanished.

The Kitsune then turned his attention to Ryoga and Akari. "So, what am I to do with you two?" he asked.

"You can't bluff your way out of this one, Doc," Ryoga said. "Maomolin told us 'What one knows, the other can learn.' Ranma knows. I had you pegged as soon as you appeared in that form. Kasumi's presence sealed the deal."

Akari's eyes widened, but she quickly recovered. "I've already been touched by a nasty supernatural creature. You might as well leave me with the memory of a nice one."

"Fine," Tofu said, still in his Kitsune form. "Just keep quiet, OK?" At their nods he continued: "I'll have some beds made up for you at the Clinic. In the meantime, take a moonlit stroll. Give us about an hour and a half to clean up here, and then meet us at the Clinic. Akari, make sure to lead. Now go change." Ryoga began to gather his clothes while Akari went to the bathroom. The rest left the room and closed the door to give Ryoga some privacy.

"Thank heavens Ryoga can't randomly teleport anymore," Kasumi mentioned. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to leave him alone."

"It was that bad?" Ciren asked.

"Worse," Tofu answered. He then shifted to his spirit form. "Olaf, would you mind driving them back to downtown Nerima, preferably near a nice park?"

"No problem. Do you want me to watch over them too?" the giant asked.

Tofu thought about it for a few moments, his tail whipping the air randomly. "Yes," he answered. "Normally I'd say those two would be all right, but they will both be a little distracted tonight. Why don't you continue to play chauffeur for a bit?"

"I'll make sure they get to the Clinic," Olaf told him. Tofu nodded his thanks.

Ciren looked at Tofu suspiciously, "What do you know, Fox?"

"That it's not my news to tell," Fox answered her.

"I hate when he does this," Kasumi said with exasperation.

"We will give you the club membership card later," Mouse told Kasumi.

* * *

A/N: We will wrap up the "B" side of "The Date" next week with three short chapters (The "A" side just finished). Thank you for reading!


	11. The Midnight Hour

Chapter 10: The Midnight Hour (Ryoga and Akari)

From the middle of Nerima Memorial Park, one could hear the laughter of a couple, reflecting on their day. "Well, I must say, Mr. Hibiki," Akari laughed. "The day ended much better than it started."

"Oh, I'm sure she will forgive me eventually…" Ryoga said.

* * *

Ranma was working through his katas when he suddenly hit the floor. Two whirling bandanas flew through where he had been. "Not good enough pig-brain!" he yelled out. He then rolled to the left and narrowly avoided his brother trying to smash a rib.

"Good morning lover-boy!" Ryoga shouted. "Did you remember to kiss your sweetie this morning? I got mine, but your still out in the cold, aren't you?"

Ranma swung his legs around in a side kick, but Ryoga dodged easily. The Lost Boy counter-attacked with another rib strike. Ranma pushed himself into the air with his arms and was on his feet launching a kick at Ryoga's head. Ryoga had no choice but to block.

"I'm not in the cold - mine's just too hot to handle some times. There will be time this evening," Ranma countered.

The two martial artists began trading kicks and punches faster than the eye could follow. The bantering still continued, but neither one wanted to make more than a few comments about the other's girlfriend or the status of their respective relationships. Neither one of them was that stupid – should a girlfriend actually hear a comment, it would be repeated to the other and then both young men would be in trouble (no matter who made the original comment). Instead, they discussed intelligence, family genetics, evolutionary status, and marital status of respective parents in relationship to one's birth. All-in-all, it was a satisfying meeting of the minds (and fists). When the clock chimed half-past the hour, both fighters stopped mid-swing and immediately ran through several katas together to cool down. They finished with a five-minute meditation.

Ranma nodded and they rose together. "What brings you to town a day early?" he asked Ryoga.

"The obvious. Akari and I asked the Doc if we could help out a few days back. He said it would be much appreciated," Ryoga responded.

"Hey, thanks! That's great!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Yeah, I figure family should stick together," Ryoga said.

"You'll get the Queen Mother on your side yet," Ranma teased.

"Ah, I figure if Kimiko didn't grind me into sausages when we first met, she should give me a decent grade when we meet again. I just hope her daughter forgives me by then," Ryoga added.

"Is Akari here right now?" Ranma asked with a sly look.

"Yeah, she went into the kitchen to see Kasumi. Why?" Ryoga asked.

"Akane didn't go to see Yuka this morning as usual. Yuka and Sayuri were coming here instead," Ranma explained.

Consternation broke out on Ryoga face, "Oh Shi-"

A sweet voice chimed out: "Good morning P-Chan!"

***SMASH***

Ranma could hear a moan of "oowww" drift up from under the head of the large mallet. Ranma's tomboy fiancée looked very chipper as she said "I just live for that moment of dawning realization." She turned to Ranma and said sweetly: "Lunch will be in a little bit. You'd better start to clean up." Then she bent down to Ryoga, "You too, dear brother-in-law-to-be." With that, she left doing a little side-to-side dance back toward the house.

Ranma removed the mallet from Ryoga and helped the Lost Boy stand up. "Well, that wasn't too bad. I think she's actually starting to forgive me," Ryoga commented.

Ranma grinned and said: "Today's the first day she made a joke about it. I think you'll be out of the woods by the end of the month, but you'll still need to be on best behavior for a while. Besides, she wants to be good friends with Akari. It's hard to do that if she's regularly beating you up."

Ryoga shook his head. "She doesn't need to worry about that. Akari already likes her, and Akari is quite content with the punishments. I had to talk very fast to get Akari to forgive me and do a lot of explaining. As it was, Akari made sure I suffered for a bit as well – if it wasn't for the fact that I had changed, I would be hanging in a butcher shop somewhere."

* * *

Akari said, "Yeah, you're also lucky I know what a prude you are." Ryoga blushed at that. "If I thought you'd been using your curse to watch Akane get undressed, you would be hanging in that butcher shop. You're also lucky Akane knows what a prude you are – she once told me that if you had looked, you would have died from a nosebleed." She gave Ryoga a very direct look and tapped his forehead. "Actually, you have to be the luckiest person on earth, Mister 'I've seen hell…'. You're lucky that your offense happened before we met, and you're lucky that Akane is actually a very forgiving soul when all is said and done. I'm not sure I could ever forgive you if I had been in Akane's shoes."

Ryoga looked down and sighed. "Yeah, I was pretty horrible, compromising her trust like that, but I'm not the same person anymore and I'm trying to make amends."

Now Akari sighed, "That's good love, because I don't think I could have fallen in love with that person – not for real anyway. Once my little pig-infatuation was over, you'd be history; promise or no promise."

Ryoga nodded his agreement, and then changed the subject slightly. "Actually, your pig-infatuation had me worried for a while – I wasn't sure if you loved me or loved my curse."

Akari laughed at that. "Really?" she asked. At his nod she continued, "Ryoga, I'm human and I like being human. I have never felt the urge to mate with a pig." She laughed more as his face burst into flame. "When have I ever asked you to change your form for me? Haven't I always found hot water as fast as possible?" He nodded again, so she continued on: "But I'm a sumo pig farmer. It's in my blood. I cannot change who I am, and I don't want to. Whoever I marry will have to accept that and be willing to be a farmer, at least part of the time. If you live on a farm, you're going to participate in its upkeep – there's no way around it." She paused for a second and then looked down shyly. "I just thought that with your curse, you might understand that – especially since we raise pigs to compete, not for slaughter generally. But it is a farm – life and death are part of that cycle and many of the pigs do end up on a dinner plate. I cannot sugar-coat it either."

"Admittedly, I've lost my taste for pork with my curse," he responded. "But I do understand the concept of a farm… and I'm not a pig either. I'm a human being who's also a shape-shifter. I also have a preference for working with the Earth. I don't know where that came from, but I've learned over the last few months that it's there. I'm always going to be more interested in the crops than the pigs, but I will help." He raised his eyebrows at her. "However, when it's time to ship the rejects out to other farms, I'm going to be hiding at the Tendo Dojo. Not for any sentimental reasons – I just don't want to risk ending up on a truck."

Her eyes sparkled at his comment. "No fear", she replied. "No truck will leave the farm, not even for a competition, unless I know where you are for sure. Even now we make sure to hit all the pigs with hot water." They both laughed at that, and then Akari's eyes widen. "Oh dear," she said, raising her clasped hands to her mouth. "Do you realize that we just had our first conversation about the future?" she asked.

Ryoga raised a hand behind his neck while his face reddened. "Yeah, I sort of noticed that. It's probably not the last conversation we are going to have either." Ryoga was very proud that he managed to say all that without stuttering. Akari's eyes began to get wet, and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Be a man," he told himself as he dropped his hand and reached out for her hands. Taking her hands in his own, out loud he said: "As I said, I was worried for a while about whether you really loved me or not, but I stopped worrying a couple of months ago. I've told you 'I love you' many times, but I've only recently started to really understand the word 'love' and how deep it goes. Even with my new understanding, the words 'I love you' are still true for me. I do love you, Akari, and I always will." Tears were leaking from Akari's eyes, but Ryoga understood tears better than Ranma, so he kept going: "We've been dating for over a year now. When we first met, I wasn't sure where things would end up, but I've grown a lot in that time, and so have you. I'd like to keep growing with you." Ryoga dropped to one knee and moved a hand to his pocket.

Akari's eyes began streaming and a small "Ooohhh" escaped from her mouth. She began to shake.

Ryoga was shaking as well, but he forced himself to keep moving. "I know we are a little young, and we need to wait a couple of years, but…" Ryoga removed an engagement ring from his pocket and held it up. "Akari Unryu, will you do me a great service and consent to be my wife? I understand what it is to be a friend now, and I think I understand what it is to be a boyfriend. I'd like to understand what it is to be a husband, to you and only you."

Akari was speechless. She'd hoped this day would come, but she thought Ryoga would have to grow up a bit more first. Somehow, he had defied her expectations and grown up faster than she thought possible. The question was, had she? She thought about her life, and the burdens she had to assume on the farm – much earlier than any of her contemporaries. Maybe her childhood had been a little abbreviated, but she didn't feel cheated. Akari then looked at herself and into her own heart. Somehow, someway, she was ready for the next step in her life and she wanted it to be with Ryoga. Akari couldn't speak, but she nodded her head 'Yes'.

Ryoga's smile was like the sun coming up. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and rose off his knee. Akari closed the distance and kissed him. It was a long time before they stopped….

* * *

In the distance, a tall blond man stood watching the couple from the shadows. He was careful not to be seen. The couple thought they would meet him at the entrance to the park in another thirty minutes, and he had no wish to correct them. He smiled tightly to himself. "Score another call for the Doc," he thought.


	12. The Morning After

Chapter 11: The Morning After (Gosunkugi)

Gosunkugi lay on his bed and looked around his room. The sun had risen a bare fifteen minutes ago and he was already wide awake. Memories of last night flashed in and out of his mind.

* * *

Kogane had walked with him back to his house last night. He had no idea how they had covered the distance so quickly. They had kissed on the door step, much to the surprise of his parents who quickly went into shock. He still heard Kogane's light laugh as she helped him put his parents to bed. Then the clock struck one, and Kogane told him she had to go – she had an appointment to keep.

"Will I ever see you again?" Gosunkugi had asked.

"Do you want to?" she had teased him.

"Yes!" he nearly shouted.

"Then you have to do something for me…" she said.

"Anything!" he stated.

"Get rid of all the voodoo stuff. Burn it all before sunrise. Then take the ashes and bury them," she commanded.

"O.K. Will that allow you to come visit me?" he had asked.

"Better," she replied.

"How better?" he pressed.

"I can't tell you. You have to trust me," Kogane said. "But when you see me again, I will no longer be a ghost."

"What? How will I recognize you then?" the confused young man asked.

"You'll know in your heart, Hikaru. But if you don't do what I ask, you will not see me again in this lifetime or the next," she told him. "You must sacrifice it all in my name."

"All right! I'll do it," he promised.

"Don't wait – if you want to draw me to you, time is short. Goodbye Hikaru!" With that she kissed him, and her brown eyes became grey again. Then she held up her right hand, and a small white hourglass rested on her palm. Kogane touched the top and the hourglass burst soundlessly into a blazing white light. The light washed out everything, blinding Gosunkugi temporarily. When he could see again, she was gone.

* * *

Gosunkugi had done as he promised. Every scrap of occult stuff he owned was thrown into the fireplace and burned. Afterwards, he cleaned out the fireplace and buried the ashes in the back yard. He then whispered Kogane's name, but she didn't come. He tried to summon her again with a whispered name, but she still didn't appear. Heartbroken, he had gone to bed at 4AM.

Now it was just after sunrise, and he was restless. "Had last night really happened?" he wondered. "Or was it a dream?" Looking around his room, he saw all the voodoo stuff was gone. He had gotten rid of it, dream or no dream. Not like it ever did him any good, but some of that stuff was expensive.

He got up and got dressed. Then he dug out his bicycle from the back room and went outside. Soon he found himself going down Star Avenue toward the outskirts of Nerima. As he rode, everything looked familiar, despite the fact he rarely came this way. Finally, he reached the Nerima city limits and stared. Something was off – on one side of the border was the small bookstore he remembered. On the other side of the border was the grocery store he remembered. However, between them, there was only a small fence.

"I remember a large lot that held the hotel and a ton of parking spaces," he told himself. "Everything else is right – I was here last night. Where did the hotel vanish to?"

As he pondered that, he felt someone shove him off his bike. "Hey thanks, creep!" a rough voice shouted out. "I could use a new bike!"

Gosunkugi got up quickly. He reached for his dolls and hammer, only to find them missing. "Oh, to hell with it! It never did me any good anyway!" he thought. He had been pushed around enough. The bully was much bigger than him, but for once, Gosunkugi was going to go down fighting. He ran to push the bully, but the bully just stepped aside and tripped Gosunkugi.

"Looks like you need a lesson, creep!" the bully sneer. He raised his foot to kick Gosunkugi, but never got a chance – a broom struck from out of nowhere and knocked the jerk down.

"I've had enough of you, Hisao Okada! It's hard enough to get by in the world without bastards like you making things worse!" a large middle-age woman's voice called out.

The bully got back on his feet and turned his back on Gosunkugi. "This is none of your business, Kanako. I'm going to…" is as far as he got before Gosunkugi kicked him up between the legs. The bully immediately bellowed and turned with a murderous look in his eye. He sent his fist into the side of Hikaru's face, but he should never have turned his back on the woman. She came around to make a groin shot with her broom, but hit the mark far better than Gosunkugi had. Hisao dropped to his knees and the woman swung at his head again and again. Finally, she managed to knock him down.

She gave the bully a final kick in the stomach which caused Hisao to curl into a fetal position. "Enough!" Hisao coughed out. "You win, Kanako! Stop!"

"Go away now, Hisao! And stay away from here. Do your thieving elsewhere! Understand?" she hissed.

Hisao started: "I'm leaving, bitch…" which is as far as he got before Kanako kicked him again. "Enough" he whimpered.

Kanako watched Hisao slowly pick himself up and shuffled away. Then she turned her attention to Gosunkugi. "Well, my little scarecrow, next time someone accosts you like that, do the sensible thing and call the cops." She looked at Hikaru and decided the dizzy young man needed some attention. "Kogane!" she bellowed. "Kogane, come out here! I need your help!"

"Yes, Mama," a familiar voice answered. A slim and shy-looking young woman with deep brown eyes, about 17 or 18 years old, stepped out from the apartment building behind Kanako. "What's wrong?"

"Our scarecrow here had a run in with Hisao," her mother told her. "He gets an 'A' for effort, but little else. At least he held onto his bicycle. Please take it inside for him. I want to attend to the bruise on his face and get the swelling down."

"Kogane?" Gosunkugi thoughts repeated. He turned to look at the girl and froze. Likewise the young woman froze when she saw Gosunkugi.

Her mother noticed the sudden stillness and was about to scold them when she felt a 'spark' between the two teenagers. Her mother's intuition kicked in and she studied her son-in-law-to-be. "Needs work," she thought. "But he'll do. He might be an engineer or a chemist with a little pushing. Needs more backbone too, but we can work on that as well. What he really needs (besides a little patching up) is some feeding. I think that's what we work on first…"

Out loud, Kanako addressed Gosunkugi: "While 'scarecrow' is descriptive, it's a little rude. What's your name, son?"

Hikaru shook his head a little to clear some of the stars from Hisao's strike and now from Kogane's shy look. "Hikaru, ma'am. Hikaru Gosunkugi," he answered her.

"Well Hikaru, I am Mrs. Ishii, but you can call me Kanako or Mama. Many of the young folks around here do. This is my daughter, Kogane." Kogane smiled shyly, which set Gosunkugi's heart fluttering. Kanako continued on: "You know, Kogane, why don't you help Hikaru into the apartment. I'll grab his bike." With that, Kanako stepped inside carrying the bicycle.

Kogane bent down to help Hikaru. As she helped him up, she asked: "This is an odd question, but have we met before?"

Gosunkugi leaned a little on the young woman and followed her towards the door as he answered, "Yes, but I think it was in another life. You seem very familiar."

"I was just thinking that too," Kogane replied. "I think Mama's planning to feed you breakfast. I should warn you that she believes in fattening up every man she runs across. Do you have time?"

Gosunkugi turned toward Kogane. "I think I just found all the time in the world," he responded.

Kogane blushed, but her smile grew. "I have a few ideas on how you can spend it – if you're interested that is," she said shyly.

Hikaru blushed as well. "I'd like that very much," he told her. Because he was looking forward to navigate the stairs up, he never saw Kogane's eyes flash from brown to grey and back again. Nor did he see the shy smile turn sly for just a few seconds…


	13. The Afternoon After

Chapter 12: The Afternoon After.

Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi sat in chairs before the judge with their heads hanging low. Up front, Toshio Kuno and his lawyer were speaking quietly to the judge and thanking him for the off-hour audience away from the official eyes of the press. Tatewaki was sitting over on the side of the room subdued. There were two ninjas sitting on either side of him, and two more waiting to take possession of Kodachi. Cologne sat on the opposite wall with Konatsu by her side. As a compromise for being allowed in the court conference room, Konatsu had allowed Toshio to jam him into a suit, although "jam" was not the appropriate word - the suit fit him rather well.

After consulting with Toshio, the judge spoke to the three women. "All right, because no one was actually hurt when you rampaged through those hotels and because the hotels have allowed Mr. Kuno to accept responsibility for the damages, I am sentencing you to one year of probation and sixty hours of community service each. Since you are all under age, if you keep your noses clean, this conviction will become sealed. Consider yourselves extremely lucky." With that, the judge rose and left the room.

Cologne rose as soon as the judge left. "Thank you for your timely assistance, Mr. Kuno."

"You are welcome," he replied. "Although, please understand, it was my niece's involvement that spurred me to action." He then turned to Kodachi. "Do you know how much trouble you could have been in, you foolish girl?" Kodachi winced at his tone, as he continued: "I don't have as much power here as in Nerima. I cannot cover up your idiocy as easily here." He turned to Tatewaki. "That includes you, fool. You're supposed to be attending classes at University, not chasing after girls who have no interest in you at all and, in fact, are in love with someone else." Tatewaki looked rebelliously at his uncle, but held his tongue. Toshio spoke again to Tatewaki: "You are going to return to campus and stay there until the semester ends. You will be monitored, and if you leave campus without my blessing for any reason, I will cut off every credit card you have and deny you access to your bank account." He turned back to Kodachi and addressed her: "You will likewise be monitored. You're grounded from here on in. You can go to competitions only if chaperoned. Otherwise, you will be at school or home. That's it or face the same consequences as your brother. "

Konatsu now rose and bowed to Toshio. "While I acknowledge your own concerns, thank you for your help none the less. I appreciate the time you gave me this morning when I showed up on your doorstep." Toshio nodded his acceptance. Konatsu turned to Ukyo and spoke: "Mistress, we need to go home now."

Ukyo didn't like the absolutely flat tone she heard in Konatsu's voice. There was no anger, no reprimand, but definitely no adoration either. With a start, she realized that, with this rescue, he may consider his debt to her repaid. Without the Kuno family's intervention, she could be looking at some very real jail time and a permanent record and, apparently, Konatsu had involved Toshio. The thought that Konatsu might actually leave her disturbed her in ways she didn't understand.

Cologne spoke up again, "All right, Shampoo, get up and let's go. We have a divorce to plan." Shampoo paled as she heard this, but she was too ashamed to deny this (for now). In her rage and pride, she had foolishly placed herself in a position to be surrounded by policeman in riot gear with tear gas – too many to mind-wipe. Her options had degenerated to either attacking "those who protected others" or surrendering to them. She had chosen the option that would spare her village humiliation, but not herself. Happily, most of them were married, but Grandmother said she now had added three more perspective husbands with her surrender. Shampoo also did not like the way Grandmother was eyeing Konatsu – there were rumors out there that the ninja was as talented as Ranma.

Meanwhile, Tatewaki had opened his mouth to say something to his uncle only to be viciously shutdown. "Not one word, Tatewaki!" his uncle shouted. "Not one bloody word. Right now, it upsets me that my heir-apparent is a complete fool who cannot accept what his eyes tell him. Understand these simple truths: Akane Tendo does not love you! She doesn't even like you after you made her life hell! Akane loves Ranma Saotome. Period. End of statement." Tatewaki tried to shout a denial, but Toshio caught his chin in a firm grip and wouldn't let him speak. "Ranma Saotome loves Akane Tendo and no one else." Toshio held up his other hand sharply to the rest of the room, his rage silencing the gasps from three young women. "The pig-tailed goddess you keep chasing does not exist. She is a polymorphic form of Ranma Saotome. He was cursed by a very powerful spell that causes him to appear as a 'she' sometimes. You're chasing after a guy and all of Nerima knows this!" One of the ninja guarding Kodachi had to catch her when she fainted. Tatewaki went very pale, but Toshio could see Tatewaki was denying all of this to himself. "Listen to me you, idiot! Everything I said is true."

Cologne spoke up then: "He's right, Kuno. Every word your uncle spoke is true." She then sighed. "Every bloody word." Konatsu was nodding his head in agreement. Shampoo and Ukyo broke into tears, but Cologne heard their whispered denials and saw the look on Tatewaki's face. She sighed again, and knew nothing had been resolved.

* * *

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed the story. I'd like to thank the following Reviewers (in no particular order) for the feedback and encouragement: supermangageek23, caia-chan, TL, NPP6, Compucles, Richard Ryley, Wharpt, SatineGrey, Flameraven1, Leoness, Weird Beard, and James Birdsong. I also like to thank all those who sent PM's as well – any healthy interest is "good" interest.

I'm taking a small break to do some reading – some of you have completed stories since I started "Say 'Yes' to the Dress" and I want to read them. I am also re-working some of the my stories in the pipeline: The villain in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome" didn't work out at all and the story has some severe out-of-character issues, so it's been sent to the shredder (again – it often takes three or four re-writes to solve these issues). Instead, I have a few small "slice-of-life" stories on tap. The first up is "To Serve and Protect in Nerima":

Come join Police Sergeant Hiroaki Imia as he introduces his new transfer, Officer Sadeo Ueda, to the citizens of Nerima. Will Officer Ueda have what it takes to be a police officer in Nerima? Read and see!

(Due out before the end of September :-) )


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